Coming Together for the Holidays
by Sheri Contrary
Summary: PART FOUR...It's simple, really...FOUR Potters spend FOUR days with FOUR Malfoys. Shouldn't be too difficult...right? Hmm. DM/HP slash. Somewhat AU, but epilogue compliant...and as in character as I am capable. COMPLETE
1. Day One

**XxX  
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**Title: **Coming Together for the Holidays

**Scene:** Takes place in Draco's London flat (for the most part)...though there is one gaunt elsewhere.

**Summary:** It's simple...the FOUR Potters hang out for FOUR days with FOUR Malfoys. Shouldn't be too difficult...right? Hmm.

This is **PART FOUR** in my "Togetherness" series...if you want background, go read parts one, two, and three.

**Pairings:** DM/HP, LM/NM

**PoV:** Most told the from the PoV of James, Scorpius, Lily, and Albus (with some third person mixed in).

**Rating: **I rated this **M** for no other reason than the few f-words. Oh wait! The M rating is for the actual fucking too (see "warning").

**Warning:** Slash is implied early on by our boys' delicate conditions (**M-PG**...don't read this if you don't like that sort of thing), with some man/man kissing throughout, and some man sex in each chapter (I think).

**Disclaimer: **I own NOTHING! At least, nothing that's _Harry Potter_...all of _that_, of course, belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.

**Note:** I've decided to post this series of scenes between Harry and Draco as separate "complete" stories, because I'm afraid that I'm going to lose interest and just stop updating...and I know how much people hate that, because I do too. Each "scene" _should be_ complete in and of itself. I will try not to leave you hanging, though I may imply that there'll be more to follow. I hope you can forgive my strange way of getting around using the "in progress" function...and for not continuing the series, should I so choose to just be done with it.

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**Posted:** Saturday, 22 April 2012

**Word Count:** 27,946 (this ONLY includes actual story (all four chapters), please disregard the "word count" provided by this site…it is WRONG)

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**PART FOUR**

**Coming Together for the Holidays**

(some thoughts on the matter)

**Day One**

(Saturday, December 25, 2021)

***~* James Sirius Potter *~***

It had been a week since we'd come home for the holidays; exactly five days since we'd been told the news that Dad wasn't beating for our team anymore and that he was dating someone (Draco _bloody_ Malfoy), that we were going to have a new brother _and_ sister (come June), and that we'd be spending three _very_ long days at the Malfoys' over the hols. To say we were shocked (and not happy) by the news would be an immense understatement. In fact, I think I might have pissed in my pants upon hearing the news (don't tell anyone).

Well, _some of us_ were (shocked and upset). My sister, Lily, didn't seem to be at all. Her reaction to dad's, "_Kids, I've got something to tell you all. I'm...ahh...well...I'm dating someone,_" was something else completely.

We _all_ smiled, because...Oh _Godric_, it was about _damned_ time that dad found something to do that wasn't Auror-related; he spent _far_ too much time in the office these days. It had been a year since mum has passed and, as far as _we_ knew, dad hadn't been on even one date. Of course, with school and all, we were gone quite a bit, but...well...he'd never _mentioned_ a date.

"_This person is,_" our dad continued, "_well...it's sort of complicated. I...ah...well, I guess what I'm_ trying _to tell you isthatI'mdatingamansoIguessI'mgay,_" he rattled off so quickly that, for a moment, I didn't know what he'd actually told us.

And then (of course) Lily cleared things up.

"_Yeah, dad, we know that,_" she'd replied simply—then clarified. "The gay part, I mean."

To say dad's eyes looked as if they were going to Disapparate right out of his head is _also_ quite the understatement. "_You do?_" he'd asked, his green eyes bulging like one of our house-elf's.

Lily had nodded vigorously. "_Well yeah, mum might have mentioned a time or two that you're just as attracted to men as you are women,_" she went on—then rolled her eyes. "_And frankly, dad, it's not hard to miss the fact that you often ogle men when we're out in public. Pfft! You Gryffindors have the subtly of a herd of stampeding Hippogriffs._"

Dad looked as if he were going to pass out. I felt like I might as well. I mean, Lily was right...mum _had_ mentioned it (in a sort of round about way), which now made me wonder if she was preparing us for a time when she wouldn't be around, a time when we might need to know (and accept) that dad's not quite as straight as we'd always believed. She'd joked about it even, saying that there'd be no shortage of blokes banging on the door if dad were to suddenly become available. I'd, of course, not taken that to mean that our dad would be _willing_ to date them, but...well...apparently he _would_.

"_It's all right, dad,_" Lily had reassured him with a very grown up (and reassuring) pat on our dad's shoulder. She'd gotten up and had wrapped her arms around his neck. "_We just want you to be happy._"

Albus nodded dumbly, of course, but I couldn't help myself. I had to know more, because...well...I _knew_ there had to be more if dad was actually telling us about this...this _person_. And so I asked. "_Who is he, dad?_"

And so that's when he broke the news to us about Draco Malfoy, the babies, and the fact that we were going to be spending more than seventy-two precious hours of our winter holiday at Malfoy's flat—starting on Christmas Day—after our traditional Christmas Eve celebration over at our grandparents' house...which, by the way, was fantastic—until dad opened his mouth to the _entire_ family. I'd prayed to Merlin that he'd wait, that he'd find a better forum to make such an announcement, but no...he didn't. *sigh*

The family's reaction was quite surprising though, if I do say so. First, there was silence. _Deafening_ silence. Then someone started laughing. No, not someone. It was Uncle George, of course, who burst out laughing—cackling, really—which was quickly followed by stunned looks and more silence. But then George's gleeful chortling also triggered grandma's tears—because George hardly ever laughed and it was great to hear—and everyone was clamoring around dad, wanting to hug him and give him their best wishes. And the strangest part was that they didn't even seem to mind _who_ dad was dating. He'd told them, but I swear they must have missed that part...and the part where dad said, "The babies are due in June," because...well...because all the hugs and congratulations _seemed_ to indicate that they were _happy_ about the news. And how could _that_ be the case, right? Grandma even asked when she'd get to see 'Draco,' saying that it had been much too long since he'd been over.

That, of course, was astonishing, because...when _exactly_ had _Malfoy_ become _Draco_ in the Weasley household? And...when the _heck_ had _Draco Malfoy_, little Death Eater in training (in the days of old), been to the Burrow? The first chance I got, I cornered Uncle Ron and demanded that he spill it. And he did. He told me how Professor Mitchell (a completely barmy American witch) came to Hogwarts during their last year—after the war—to teach Muggle Studies, and how she made them do all kinds of inane things in order to get the four+ Houses united. Uncle Ron told of how all the returning students from their year had been forced to live together—there were only twenty of them who'd returned—and that they'd made friends after all that time. He also admitted that he'd never known how _good of friends_ some in his year had become (i.e. dad and Draco Malfoy), but that he was truly fine with it, because dad had had a hard life, and all he (Uncle Ron) wanted was for his best mate (and brother-in-law) to be happy. "_If your dad is happy with the ferrety-faced little prat, then...I guess I'm happy for him,_" he'd said, looking quite earnest. I'd eyed him skeptically, of course, wondering if my Aunt Hermione had whacked him over the head with her newest copy of _Hogwarts, A History_ (updated and unabridged) one too many times. But again, he seemed to be of sound mind (and body). Humph!

This made everything all the more confusing, because...Uncle Ron _hated_ Draco Malfoy! We'd all heard him say it a million times over the years. In fact, in _my_ sixteen years of existence, I'd heard, "_Merlin, I hate Malfoy!_" or "_Bouncing Ferret, be damned!_" or "_That Slytherin snake!_" at least once every time we all got together—which was _nearly_ every Sunday night (minus my time at school) for as long as I can remember. That's a lot of _hate_ to have heard over the years—and now we were expected to just grin and bear the fact that dad was _dating_ the man. Not just _dating him_; Dad had taken it up the arse and was having the git's baby (and vice versa). Apparently we now had to _be a family_. All _eight_ of us! Dad had the three of us—and one on the way. And _Malfoy_ had three children—and one on the way. What. The. _FUCK_! And, what the _HELL_ were they _thinking_? Of course I knew the answer to that; they _weren't_ thinking! Not with their heads (the ones nestled above their shoulders), anyway. What were they..._teenagers?_ Disgusting!

This made me wonder what Malfoy's son thought of all this. Scorpius Hyperion (what the fuck kind of middle name was that?) Malfoy was in Albus' year, so he was fifteen—but the boy was quiet, sort of a recluse. He was in Slytherin, which was no big surprise (Malfoys were apparently disowned if they didn't make Slytherin House), and had a way of making himself invisible—which made me curious as to whether the boy had an invisibility cloak like the one dad had (which I occasionally nicked). In fact, even Lily, who'd also been sorted into Slytherin—something Uncle Ron bellyached about behind Aunt Hermione's back—had never once mentioned the Malfoy kid. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? I didn't know.

So...we arrived at the Malfoys' at just before half four on Christmas Day—and were _instantly_ treated to dad and Mr. Malfoy's semi-public display of affection. The door opened and we'd barely stepped over the threshold when they hugged and kissed hello. Blech! Then mumbled some _revolting_ endearments. Retch! And then the two of them just stood there grinning stupidly at each other—until Scorpius cleared his throat and said, "_Introductions_, Father."

We didn't really need them, of course, because...well, we all _knew_ who everyone was, but...leave it to Malfoy's kid to make such a suggestion, like he _wanted_ to get to know us better. I hated him already!

"Oh yes," said the blond man, gesturing that we should come inside further. "I do apologize," he said to us. "You all probably know my son, Scorpius, from school, yes?"

All our eyes swinging from the blond man to his equally blond son, we nodded.

"Great then. So, these are my daughters, Carina and Cassie," the man said, indicating the two little girls who were holding tightly to their brother's robes.

Standing at the far end of the entry room, just in front of the steps that let up and into their flat, Scorpius Malfoy rolled his eyes, obviously not caring for the way his father had introduced them, but both girls smiled (one of them more shyly than the other). All three of them had their father's pale complexion and platinum-colored hair, but where Scorpius' eyes were gray (and somewhat cold...at least at the moment), the girls' eyes were bright and blue and interested. Scorpius' face was also rather pointed, whereas his sisters' faces were still rounded, like toddlers tended to be.

"And, despite the fact that I feel as if I know you already..." Mr. Malfoy started, his eyes going to dad again.

"Oh. Right. These are _my_ children; James, Albus, and Lily," dad said with a smile as he put a hand on both Albus and Lily's shoulders. "Kids, this is Draco...my boyfriend."

A muscle in Albus's face twitched at dad's last word, but he managed to give a little wave hello. Lily smiled pleasantly, of course, because nothing seemed to faze her. But I...I couldn't bear to do either. My eyes connected with Scorpius', who nodded almost indiscernibly, then narrowed. I did _not_ want to be here and apparently Scorpius didn't want us here either.

But then we were given another shock.

"Happy Chwismas, Da-da," one of the little girls said—and she was _not_ talking to her own father.

As she came forward and reached her chubby little hands up toward _our_ dad, he bent down and scooped her up (without missing a heartbeat, I might add), and said, "Well, Happy Christmas to you too, Cassie dear."

This action gained my dad another stupidly silly grin from his _boyfriend_ (ridiculous term for two men of FOURTY-ONE), then the blond man said, "Let me take your coats first, darling," which made me cringe, because...who the _fuck_ was Mr. Malfoy talking to? His daughter or _our_ dad?

"Right. Of course," dad said. He then gave the little girl...Cassie, I guess...a kiss on the cheek and gently set her down, blew a kiss at the other girl (who, except for the slight color difference of her dress, looked identical to the one he'd just put down), then shrugged out of his coat, handed it to our host, then turned to take our coats from us. Mr. Malfoy hung them all up in a closet just behind him, then turned to smile at us all.

"So. Supper will be ready in about an hour," the _boyfriend_ said (with obvious nervousness). "Hope you're hungry; I've got quite a feast preparing."

Silence.

To which dad responded by reaching out and squeezing the other man's forearm (to reassure him, I guess). "_Of course_ we are, Draco," he said with an encouraging smile—then turned his head just so and mouthed, _be nice._

Glancing worriedly at our dad, Malfoy pursed his lips, then continued. "Well, come on in?" he said as he turned and started up the stairs. "The kitchen is here. You're all welcome to raid it whenever you're hungry...but not too close to meals, naturally," he said with a teasing grin. "Wouldn't want you all to be too full to eat a meal with the rest of us."

"_Naturally,_" I mumbled sarcastically—which earned me a stern look from dad.

"The dining room is through there," Mr. Malfoy went on—he'd not heard me or seen dad's look. "And up here is the main living space," he said as they reached that level. "I'm afraid we don't spend much time in here though; we seem to prefer the upstairs parlour."

"By _that_, the upstairs parlour, Draco means the room that houses a television," our dad translated.

"You have a telly?" Lily asked, her eyes bright with excitement. "We've got one too, but dad hardly ever lets us watch it. Says it'll rot our minds...even though I hear _him_ watching it when he thinks we're sleeping."

Dad's boyfriend chuckled. "Yes," he said, giving an almost _too_ enthusiastic nod. Then, after a glance at dad, he continued. "There's...ahh...definitely one of those Muggle television thingies in this place. We could...all watch a movie," he suggested.

With a roll of his eyes, Scorpius Malfoy sneered, "Because we'd all just _love that_, Father. Not likely."

Silence again—then the elder Malfoy cleared his throat.

"Well then, why don't we just show you all to your rooms, then you can settle in before supper," the man said, looking slightly disappointed. "What do you think, Harry?"

Dad nodded. "Sounds good to me. I can take them up if you need to check on the food."

Dad's boyfriend bobbed his stupid blond head. "That would be great. Scorpius you can—"

"I'll just be in my room," the boy said, then turned and stomped off.

Frowning, Mr. Malfoy looked at dad and whispered, "Sorry."

"Not a problem, Draco. It's to be...expected. I'll take them." Then, speaking to the room, dad said, "But who'd like to help me?"

"I," the twins chorused happily, surprising the two men when Cassie (the shyer one, apparently) slipped her hand into Lily's and tugged her toward the staircase. "I wike your pwitty wed hair," she said, reaching out a tentative hand and touching my sister's long red locks. Lily _did_ have pretty hair. "Mine is just pwain white."

Lily grinned. "Well, thank you," she said. "And I like your dress...both of your dresses. Green is my favorite color."

Both girls smiled brightly. "My pwaid is forwest gween," Cassie said as she pushed at the skirt of her dress. "Cawina's is kewwy gween."

Smiling, dad picked up the other little girl (the less shy one) and followed. "Come on. Let's go."

"Dat's the pawwour," Cassie Malfoy stated once they'd reached the first floor. "Can we watch a movie latah, da-da?"

Smiling, my dad did his best to be non-committal. "Maybe. Let's see what your father wants to do."

At just three, the little girl seemed to know a blow-off when she heard one, and pouted to show it.

"This floor has two extra bedrooms," dad said to us.

"Gwandmere uses da blue woom when she visits," the little girl holding Lily's hand stated. "It has a bafwoom."

"Father says we can't go in there," the other one said as we went up another flight of stairs to the second floor.

"Scorpy's woom is 'round there," Cassie said, pointing.

"And you three will be staying this way," dad said. Opening the first door, he smiled. "Lily."

Poking her head in tentatively, Lily glanced around, then stepped into the room fully. It had a single bed, covered with green and yellow bedding, a night table on either side, on one wall; a long, low dresser under a window, on the far wall; a desk and chair to the right of the door; and a comfortable-looking chair and ottoman in the corner. "This'll do," she said with a pleased smile. "I'll just unpack, Dad."

"I will help," Carina said as she wiggled to get out of our dad's arms.

Nodding, dad set the blonde munchkin on the floor and watched for a moment as she and her sister clamored to assist our Lily, then said, "The loo's in the hall, Lils," before backing out of her room and opening the next door. "You two will have to share...I hope that doesn't upset you too much."

"As if you care if something upsets us!" I suddenly snapped—I couldn't seem to help myself.

"James Sirius!" dad hissed at me. "That's not...fair. And it's untrue besides. Of course I care."

Feeling chagrinned, I glanced down at my trainers. "I know, dad, it's just...I don't wanna be here."

Sighing, dad ran a hand through his messy black hair and looked at me. "I understand that this isn't easy, James, but...your mum is gone and I have to move on. You'll just have to get used to the changes, son. I...I think I love this man."

My eyes went to Albus—he was busy rummaging through his trunk. Why he'd brought _everything_ for three days was beyond me, but it made me think about the permanence of the situation. _Merlin_, this was really happening!

"It's just three days, James," my dad said. "_Anyone_ can survive an ordeal that only lasts three days."

"But that's the thing, dad," I argued. "This _isn't_ going to be over in three days, is it? You two are having a baby..._two_ babies. You and Mr. Malfoy will be connected from here on out and we'll _always_ have to deal with it...deal with _him!_"

Dad winced, but I didn't care.

"That's true, but...I need you to make an effort, James. And please, he'd like you to call him Draco."

Dad stood there staring at me and I knew he was waiting for me to say something, to give him some sign that I'd comply, but I didn't...I couldn't.

"Well then, supper in an hour," he said—then left, closing the door quietly as he went.

**XxX**

Our meal wasn't an absolutely horrible affair. One thing that could be said for _Draco_ was that he could definitely cook. Dad had mentioned that he didn't have a house-elf—which surprised me, because we knew the man had more money than Merlin (even compared to us and, let's just say, we had Galleons coming out of our ears)—so he'd clearly done all the work himself. The food was delicious, actually, but I wasn't about to tell _him_ that (or let myself be too impressed)—even if it _would_ make dad ecstatically happy (as if he needed more happy at this point). In fact, even though I knew it bothered my dad, I said next to nothing during the meal.

But that didn't mean we ate in silence. Draco had charmed some instruments to play themselves, so...there was that. I can't say what was playing exactly, but it was _fanciful and nice_, something orchestral—something our mum would have likely made fun of, because she'd preferred her music quite a bit louder and a hell of a lot harder (mum hadn't been much of a girlie girl). But dad clearly liked it (the music). Dad always liked _his_ music to have some sort of a calming effect. Couldn't say I blamed him for _that_—the desire for tranquility—after the life he'd led, which had been anything _but_ peaceful. So much had been expected of him, almost from the start of his life, that sometimes I wondered how he was able to do the job he did. I could appreciate that he quite enjoyed anything that was relaxing. And so the music fit our dad—and apparently _Draco_ as well.

And they were talking—dad and Draco—about a variety of topics, like all this was a normal-family supper gathering. They did look happy—at peace—sitting side by side at the end of the large, extra-wide dining table, with Lily, Albus, and I to dad's right and Scorpius between his sisters on their father's left. And occasionally, because they were sitting so close, they bumped elbows, then glanced at one another and smiled. I could tell that they were sometimes in their own world; it was weird.

And Lily chatted with them, giggling every now and then—sometimes inappropriately (they didn't seem to notice)—and answering all of _Draco's_ many questions about school. That was one thing about Lily; she could talk your ear off, and do it so that you didn't become too annoyed with her (mostly). She's an odd little Slytherin, my sister; ambitious, cunning, and resourceful...yes! But she's also courageous, dedicated, loyal, patient, and wise. Such an interesting mix!

And then _the boyfriend_ asked if _she_ had a boyfriend—which shut my sister up right quick and had our dad gaping, then sputtering about her being too young for such a thing. Dad's boyfriend argued (playfully) that one was never too young to date and dad challenged him to have that same opinion when the twins were old enough to be interested in sex—to which the blond man objected, saying that he'd said _nothing_ about sex. Though watching the two men go back and forth was sort of comical—the only ew-factor being that they'd brought up SEX—I managed to keep a straight face, because...well, I didn't want them to know that our table conversation was actually amusing in any way.

And so I continued my silence, my face tight.

Albus was fairly quiet as well, mostly speaking only when spoken to. He didn't seem as disturbed by the sex talk. I sometimes wondered if my brother was asexual, because he hadn't yet expressed an interest in girls—or boys, for that matter. That I knew of anyway. Albus was also treated to the third degree by dad's boyfriend, starting with school. _Draco_ wanted to know what his favorite subjects were (Care of Magical Creatures and DADA)...and his least favorite subjects (Ancient Runes and Divination). He asked about friends...and about Quidditch. Just like me, Albus liked Quidditch quite a bit, and he was good at it too. Neither of us were Seeker though, both of us preferring the position of Chaser instead.

This, of course, launched a conversation about dad and Draco's rivalry _back in the day_—and dad accusing the other man of only becoming Seeker for Slytherin House so that he would have yet another way of tormenting him. Draco scoffed at the idea, reminding dad that the last thing he'd needed was more opportunities to do such a thing. But, in the end, he'd laughed and admitted that our dad wasn't far from the truth...that he'd always looked for ways to be closer to him. And he was rewarded for his confession. Smiling, dad leaned in and pressed his lips to the blond man's—and I think he might have let his hand wander up Draco's leg as well.

Shuddering, I had to look away. Blech!

And then _our_ dad treated Scorpius to the same questioning—school, hobbies, friends, etc—which was quite informative, because we didn't know much about the near-exact replica of Draco Malfoy. He was an extremely good student; one who excelled in most subjects, but kept to himself so much so that most people didn't even notice his presence. He enjoyed Arithmancy the most, but was totally fascinated by Muggle Studies—which was something _his_ father said he'd not known—and he hated Ancient Runes and Divination (just like Albus). He said that he liked _watching_ Quidditch, but that he'd much rather read a book about it than actually participate in the sport, because he thought it was a touch violent and didn't much care for flying. He mentioned that he had a good mate in Ravenclaw, but didn't give us a name—and dad didn't press—and said there was a Slytherin girl he liked, but wouldn't give her name either, admitting that she didn't know he existed—yet.

And then the boyfriend brought out dessert. I'm not saying I was won over, because _that_ wasn't going to happen (any time soon), but...well...let's just say it was better than anything I'd tasted in my life thus far. And that was saying something, because my Grandma Weasley was the best cook _ever_ and she regularly treated her grandchildren to yummy desserts.

And that pretty much wrapped up our meal. The food was good, but the conversation a little awkward—and then we went upstairs into the "parlour" to watch a movie. A movie that, I'm sorry to say, I can't even recall, because I was too distracted (and revolted) by dad's behavior. It wasn't that he and Draco were overly demonstrative, but they did sit together on the sofa, much closer than _some of us_ would have preferred, their hands clasped—and the twins curled up on top of them—while the rest of us were scattered about the room. Lily had plopped herself down in a chair just to the right of the parents' sofa, Albus and I shared a settee to the right of Lily, and Scorpius sat in a chair across the room from our dads—glaring at the pair of them while petting a large ball of fur on his lap.

It was at about ten o'clock, after we'd "watched" two movies—as a family (pfft!)—when dad and Draco excused themselves, leaving the four of us to ourselves (they'd taken the twins to bed). I think we were all relieved to see them go—even Lily seemed to let out her breath—but I couldn't help thinking about _what_ they were most probably going to be doing upstairs in _Draco's_ bedroom. At sixteen, I knew about these things...er...well, not exactly...not from firsthand experience or anything. Either way, the images that were forming in my head were rather disgusting.

"That was...interesting," said Albus, interrupting my thoughts (thank Merlin!).

Scorpius gave a stiff nod. "Agreed."

"We have to do something about this," I said.

"Agreed," Scorpius repeated, nodding again. "But what?"

"What _exactly_ do you think we _can_ do?" Lily asked with a frown. "Your father is having our dad's son and our dad is having your father's daughter. These babies will be _our_ siblings."

"Your point?" asked Albus.

"My point, brother dear," Lily said with a very Aunt Hermione-like roll of her eyes, "is that we're going to have to figure out a way to deal with this...to live together. Our dads are having each other's babies, so that makes us like...family."

I shuddered; I couldn't help myself. "No, Lily, we are _not_ family," I said angrily. "The fact that there are babies on the way doesn't change that _one_ bit. And it _certainly_ doesn't mean _they_ have to be together," I said, pointing at the ceiling. "Plenty of parents raise their children without the other parent living in the same household. It's not ideal, of course, but it can be done. Dad's doing it now, as is Mr. Malfoy. And, why should _we_ all have to pay just because _they_ were irresponsible. Have you even considered _that_? No, you haven't! We have to do something. Break them up or something. Find a way to end this!"

Lily narrowed her eyes at me and I knew she wasn't happy about my condescending tone, but she didn't have a chance to respond, because Scorpius spoke next.

"Grandmere won't like _that_," he said. "She'll insist they marry."

"What? Get m-married?" Albus sputtered.

Scorpius nodded. "Of course. She'd be mortified if Father had a child out of wedlock."

I rolled my eyes. "Then we'll have to keep this from your grandmother for as long as possible."

Scorpius scoffed. "That won't go over too well. She's already complaining that she doesn't see her grandchildren enough. I heard my Aunt Daphne scolding Father for not responding to my grandmother's owls. I don't expect Father will be able to avoid her for much longer. Though, he did set the wards to keep his parents out," the blond added with a smirk.

"Excellent!" I exclaimed.

Jumping to her feet, Lily put her hands on her hips. "You two can't stop this, you know. It's happening. We'll have to get used to it!"

We ignored her.

"What about your grandfather?" I asked Scorpius. "Will he be in favor of marriage as well?"

"Oh, he still _loathes_ your father, but...I don't know," Scorpius said with a frown. "He's very much about appearances, but...he _might_ side with us. Maybe I could sneak them into the house and...just see what happens. Just a meeting between your father and my grandfather might be enough to put an end to this, because Father will be _furious_ if it actually comes to blows."

I know my eyes lit up as I nodded. "That would be brilliant!"

"Do you think they'll duel?" Albus asked excitedly.

Scorpius shrugged. "It would be entertaining, but I hope not. Like I said, Father wouldn't be too thrilled with that."

"Nor would he like it if our dad killed your grandfather, I'm sure," I said with a grin.

"Pfft! Oh _please_, as if your dad could take out Lucius Malfoy," Scorpius scoffed.

"Ahh..._hello_...our dad defeated Voldemort! I think he could easily take on your barmy old Slytherin Death Eater grandfather," Albus growled hotly

Scorpius' pale, pointed face reddened and his hand twitched, as if he were going to reach for his wand and hex my brother, but it was Lily who snarled, grabbed Albus by his shirt, and shook him violently. "_HEY_!" she snapped. "Watch what you say about Slytherin House, Albus _Severus_ Potter! Don't you forget that that's _my_ House too, you...you wanker! _Or_ that you're named after a _great_ man, who _also_ happened to be in Slytherin!"

When she gave Albus another shake, I had to cut in. "Easy, Lils."

Instantly, she let him go, her anger visibly melting away. I was the one with the quick temper, but Lily's could be bad too if she was provoked—but she was usually easy to calm down. Like now.

"You all right?" I asked our brother. Being a Gryffindor, he wasn't _at all_ a coward, but almost everyone gave Lily a wide berth when she got like this.

His eyes wide, Albus glanced at me and nodded, then looked at our sister. "Sorry, Lil...no offense intended. I just... Scorpius insulted dad, so I...got mad."

"And you insulted my grandfather," Scorpius accused.

"You started it," said Albus. "And besides, I didn't say anything that's not true."

Scorpius didn't respond, but he didn't look very happy.

Rolling her eyes, Lily smoothed Albus' shirt, then stepped away from him. "Well, let's try to refrain from the name-calling," she said after a quick glance at Scorpius. "A lot of people made mistakes during the war...and I think the Malfoys have paid for theirs. Obviously dad thinks so as well or we wouldn't be here."

Frowning, Scorpius just looked at the three of us. I didn't know him well enough to know what was going through his mind, but he was clearly surprised by our display.

"So...getting your grandparents over here while dad's here," I said, going back to our original subject. "When can you do that?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I'll send them an owl. I would be willing to bet they'll show up forthwith."

"Great. Let's send it now," I said with a grin.

Both Lily and Scorpius rolled their eyes.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Scorpius snapped. "As soon as they receive it, they'll be here, so we'll have to plan on owling them tomorrow. Besides, I think our fathers are...busy. Merlin only _knows_ what's happening up there."

At this I slapped my hands over my ears. "Stop! Don't say another word."

Again Lily's eyes rolled up to the ceiling, then back down to look at the three of us. Then, throwing her arms up in the air, she said, "_Boys_! I'll never understand you! See you in the morning!"

And then she was gone—and so the rest of us called it a night as well.

***~* D & H *~***

"So, do you think they're killing each other down there," Draco asked as he crawled up Harry's sheet-covered, yet otherwise unclothed, body, leaned down and kissed the darker-haired man, then settled himself on Harry's thighs.

Sitting up, Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's waist and caressed the small of his back while nibbling on his collarbone. "They're fine, Draco," he said reassuringly.

"Are you _sure_?" the blond asked. His eyes were closed and he was trying to enjoy what Harry's mouth and hands were doing to him, because, _Merlin_, Harry sure knew what to do with _every_ part of his body...but, he was nervous about leaving his one and only son downstairs with Harry's three hellions.

Chuckling, Harry latched onto Draco's nipple and sucked hard—causing Draco to throw his head back and groan loudly. "Harry!" he bellowed when he felt teeth gnaw at him.

"_Shhh_," Harry hissed, then started licking his way across Draco's chest, settling on the man's other nipple. "They'll hear you."

"Ever hear of a Silencing Charm, you tosser?" Draco asked.

Straightening up, Harry grinned, his green eyes twinkling. "I thought you were worried about your boy," he challenged the man straddling his legs. "Left him downstairs in the telly room with—"

"Parlour," Draco corrected. "We call it the _parlour_."

Harry rolled his eyes, then attacked Draco's shoulder. "Fine. Left your boy down in the _parlour_ with three hellish Potters, you did? Left him _completely_ unprotected by silencing our room; now we can't hear a bloody thing down there. Scared, Malfoy?"

"Of _course_ not."

"That's not the proper response," Harry complained, with a bit of a pout. "You're supposed to say—"

"_You wish_," the blond finished. "I am well aware, but that's _your_ line, Potter, not mine."

"Humph!" was Harry's only response—then he leaned forward and nipped at Draco's chin while pinching his nipple fairly hard.

Groaning again, Draco hissed, "You're _such_ a prat, Potter!" as he attempted to bat Harry's fingers off of him.

Still grinning, his hand moving to Draco's back, Harry pressed kisses over the man's neck, fluttered the pads of his fingers up Draco's spine, then raked his nails across his shoulder blades. "But you love me anyway, don't you?"

Closing his eyes, Draco dropped his head onto Harry's shoulder, but didn't respond.

"You ignoring me, Malfoy?" Harry queried.

"How could I _possibly_ ignore you?" Draco countered. "You never stop _talking_."

Harry laughed. "Answering a question with a question...how very Slytherin of you."

Smiling slyly, Draco ran his hands up Harry's arms, then around his neck and up into his hair. "Well...ahh..._Slytherin_!" he reminded.

"Oh. Right." Harry grinned—then placed a kiss on Draco's soft lips before flinging himself backward, taking Draco with him. One buck of his hips had his boyfriend flipped onto his back, his legs splayed so that Harry could explore the man beneath him. "What shall it be tonight?" he asked—then they were kissing again.

When the kiss ended, Draco frowned up at him.

"You're still worried about Scorpius," Harry stated plainly.

It wasn't a question, but Draco nodded. "Not that he can't take care of himself, mind, but..."

Sighing, Harry rolled off his boyfriend. "I'm sure everything's fine, Draco," he said. "Sure, James can be a bit intense sometimes, but Albus is fairly friendly...and I'd be willing to bet that Lily'll even the odds."

Still frowning, Draco skeptically asked, "You mean...she'll be on Scorpius' side?"

"Well...um..._Slytherin_," Harry replied with a cheeky grin, now propped up on an elbow. "We've got two Slytherins and two Gryffindors down there, so...I'd say Scorpius is safe.

Rolling up onto _his_ elbow, Draco faced Harry and smirked. "I think I'd like to feel _this_," he said as he reached out and wrapped a hand firmly around Harry's hard cock, "buried in my mouth." Using the other hand, Draco pushed an unresisting Harry onto his back and moved so that he could swallow his lover whole. Taking Harry in as far as he could, Draco felt the other man's cock brush the back of his throat, groaning when he felt it twitch.

"Oh!" Harry cried. "Do that again."

And Draco did. Pulling back first, so that he could completely fill his lungs with oxygen, he used a hand and gave Harry's cock several maddening strokes, then lowered his mouth onto it again, curling his tongue around Harry's hardness and groaning until the man responded.

"_Ohh_. That's _gooood_," Harry moaned. "Brilliant! Don't ever stop..._please_," he begged as he tried to thrust himself further into Draco's mouth.

That, of course, was the wrong thing to say, because Draco seemed to love torturing his boyfriend. Pulling back again, Draco waited until Harry whimpered, then he took him in again—first deep and then shallow, alternating between the two to make Harry crazy. And then, when Harry was close, the blond clamped a hand around the base of Harry's cock to prevent orgasm and made him wait.

"Draco..._please_," Harry whined.

And then he started in again. Licking Harry from base to tip, Draco teased his lover with soft kisses and light flicks of his tongue, using his fingers to gently knead the other man's balls until Harry was crying out and thrashing beneath him.

"Come on, Malfoy, you bloody tease! Fuck me! Please.

"Not yet," Draco said with a shake of his head. "I'm not ready."

"Well, _I am_!" Harry growled with obvious frustration. "Get _on_ with it!"

Chuckling, Draco removed the hand he had wrapped around Harry's cock and looked around for his wand. Out of reach, he sighed—then concentrating, he closed his eyes and whispered, "_Lubricus_."

Harry groaned again as he felt a warm, slick substance fill his backside—and then again when two of Draco's fingers entered him, searching for the place that drove him crazy. Though somewhat deep inside, it was quickly located, then massaged in a circular motion, while Draco went back to work on Harry's briefly neglected cock—the combined stimulation putting an end to the dark-haired man's suffering.

"Oh! Draco!" Harry bellowed as he came, coating Draco's throat with his hot viscous fluid.

Draco kept Harry's cock in his mouth until he was sure the trembling man was finished, only releasing him and wiping the back of his hand over his bruised lips when Harry convulsed due to oversensitivity.

"Sorry," Harry whispered without opening his eyes. He wanted to reach out and touch his lover, but he felt boneless.

"What are you on about?" Draco asked, wondering what Potter had to be sorry about.

"No warning," Harry breathed. "Should have let you know it was coming."

Smiling, the blond shifted, maneuvering himself so that he was kneeling between Harry's legs. "No need. I was _quite aware_ that you were coming," he said—then positioned himself and pushed forward.

Still feeling boneless, Harry just lay there, completely relaxed, but he opened his eyes and was caught by Draco's heated gaze. Pulling out slowly, then pushing in at the same rate, the blond kept his gray eyes on Harry's green ones as he repeated the process until the dark-haired man found that he could move again. With Draco's help, Harry's legs were lifted to the blond's shoulders, then he was nearly bent in half as Draco drove into him over and over again, their pace increasing with each thrust—until Draco's entire body shuddered and he spilled himself into Harry's receptive body, then collapsed upon it.

"That was..._fantastic_, Harry," the blond said after several recuperative minutes. His softening cock had slipped from Harry's worn body, but he was still quivering all over, feeling quite boneless himself. "_You_ are fantastic!" he amended.

"That's me, _Fantastic Harry_," Harry said with a grin—then he frowned. "You know, we won't be able to do this much longer. This face-to-face fucking, I mean. Soon are bellies will prevent it."

"Hmm."

"We'll have to get more creative," he went on.

"Uh-huh," Draco agreed with a barely discernable nod. His head was just over Harry's shoulder, his face buried in a pillow, their sweaty cheeks pressed together. "What did you and the Weaslette do when she got big?"

Harry frowned. "Actually, it was so long ago, I don't quite recall," he answered after a few seconds. "It was different though, because only one of us got big."

"Hmm."

"What did you and your wife do?" Harry asked curiously.

"Pfft! As if Tori let me even _touch_ her when she was with child," Draco said with a snort. Then, straightening up, the blond narrowed his eyes with worry. "You're not going to withhold yourself from me, are you?"

Harry chuckled. "Not likely," he said—then reached up, took Draco's face in his hands, and pulled him down for a kiss.

Relieved, Draco melted into the kiss.


	2. Day Two

**XxX  
**

**Coming Together for the Holidays**

(some thoughts on the matter)

**Day Two**

(Sunday, December 26, 2021)

***~* Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy *~***

It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since the Potters had arrived on our doorstep and I could already feel my loathing of them dissipating. Grr! Mind you, I still didn't want them for siblings, but...they weren't as bad as I'd thought they would be. Lily Potter was a Slytherin, which therefore made her acceptable...but she didn't seem to support our campaign to break up our fathers, spouting some drivel about shared siblings. Pfft! As if I cared about _that_. I had two full-blooded siblings and...wasn't that enough? Albus Potter, though not out and out enraged by the idea of our dads being together, seemed semi-supportive of finding a way to end it. But he'd kind of been a wanker about my grandfather, so it might be difficult dealing with him. And I didn't _want_ to deal with him any longer than I had to. And James Potter...well, James seemed to be sort of a hot head. He didn't _at all_ like the situation and had immediately warmed to my idea of calling in reinforcements—my grandparents.

Of course, I knew _that_ idea could backfire, and backfire _royally_. We were counting on my grandfather's loathing of Harry James Potter to send the house up into a maelstrom—causing a duel between them possibly. Which would, in turn, put my father through the roof—and _that_ was definitely a bad thing, because...what if it only strengthened Father's connection to his pregnant boyfriend.

And...what if Grandfather didn't even care? What if my grandfather just smiled and congratulated them? That was entirely possible, because there were times when the man just turned in on himself, behaving as if everything was perfect when it most certainly was not. When this happened, Grandfather's eyes would glaze over and it would look as if he were no longer inside his own head—a _the lights are on, but nobody's home_ sort of look. Everyone ignored this behavior, of course, pretending that everything was right as rain. It was ridiculous!

Or...what if Grandfather _did_ care, but Grandmere put her foot down and pushed Father and Harry together despite my grandfather's protests. This happened at times too. Mostly, Grandmere was happy to let Grandfather have what he wanted, but sometimes...well, sometimes she refused to give in. As far as I was concerned, _anything_ could happen...so I decided we should talk about our plan again.

It was half eight when I rolled out of bed. I immediately used the toilet, then showered and dressed. That was my way; I was always completely dressed and put together before leaving my quarters each day. It was the way I was raised. On this day, however, I dressed semi-casually, because we had no plans to go anywhere (as far as I knew). But, before I left my room, I stopped to listen—and feel. Usually, Father would already be up by now—because of the girls—but I could still feel the Silencing Charm on his bedroom (it created a bit of a hum that most didn't notice), and so I knew that wasn't the case. Leaving my room quickly, because I worried about my sisters, I immediately relaxed when I realized they were in the parlour with the three Potters.

"Morning," Lily replied when I'd entered the room. She had Cassie settled on her lap and Carina nestled in next to her; she'd apparently been reading to them from..._Hogwarts, A History_, I noticed after cocking my head and squinting to see what she was holding. Dad kept the boring tome on the table beside the sofa; it seems that she didn't go looking for something more interesting, but the twins appeared to be engrossed all the same—and _still_ in their pyjamas. That stunned me, because my sisters definitely weren't used to going about the house in anything other than their day clothes. Father would be..._scandalized_! Or...he _should be_, if he ever dragged himself from _the bed he shared with Mr. Potter_.

"Good morning," I replied politely to Lily Potter, then nodded at her brothers. Albus was busy flipping through a magazine, which I assumed he'd brought with him, because Father didn't keep anything quite so plebian in the house—and James was watching the telly. Okay...so...television was extremely plebian...and Muggle. Frowning, I said, "I was thinking we should discuss the possible problems with our plan to call in my grandparents."

"Problems?" Albus asked, glancing up from his magazine. "What problems?"

I rolled my eyes. "We discussed this."

"Well, not really," James put in. "But I thought we'd decided to just owl them and invite them over."

"Gwandmere coming to see us?" Cassie asked excitedly.

Frowning, because I realized I shouldn't have brought this up in front of my sisters, I back-peddled. "I meant _their_ grandparents," I lied—but Lily rolled her eyes and snapped her book closed.

"I'm hungry. Let's go downstairs," she suggested to the girls. "I'll start breakfast."

My sisters, distracted by food, nodded enthusiastically, got up, and grabbed Lily Potter's hands.

"Have fun planning Operation Break-up-the-parents," she whispered sarcastically.

"You're not gonna help?" James asked from across the room.

"Uh-uh. If Scorpius needs _me_, a fellow Slytherin, to help against you two bumbling Gryffindor buffoons, then I'll make myself available...maybe. But I want _nothing_ to do with these ridiculous shenanigans against the parents."

And with that, she and the twins left the room.

"_Merlin_, she's a pain in the arse!" James commented as he got up.

"Oh, I don't know...she might prove useful, your sister," I said slyly.

Albus frowned. "How do you figure?"

I smirked. "I figure that she'll, at the _very least_, even the odds between the four of us."

At this Albus rolled his eyes. "If you think _our_ sister will side with you when it counts, then you're _completely_ mad."

"Um. Albus, she sort of just did," James pointed out.

"Pfft! Those were just words," Albus Potter scoffed. "When it counts, Lil will be with us."

"Shall we owl your grandparents then?" James said to me.

"_We_?" I queried.

James rolled his eyes. "Fine then..._you_!"

"About that," I said. "Don't you think we should consider the fact that they might not help us?"

"Well, do you have a better idea?" asked the older Potter brother.

I shook my head. "Not exactly. I just want it understood that, if this backfires on us, it's not my fault."

Albus frowned. "You are _such_ a weasel! Isn't he, James...trying to get out of this before we've even started?"

"Are _you_ calling _me_ a weasel? You, son of the _Weaselette_?" I growled angrily, using the word I'd heard my father use when referring to his boyfriend's deceased wife.

"HEY! Don't you _dare_ bring up our mum, you...you..._hob_!" Albus yelled back at me. He was across the room and clutching my crisp, clean shirt in a blink, his face red with fury, and I was preparing to defend myself—and then his brother was separating us.

"Guys," the taller Potter interrupted, putting a hand on each of our chests and pushing slightly. "Let's not fight. Scorpius, if you'll kindly keep the weasel insults to yourself, we'll lay off the ferret epithets." He gave his brother a meaningful glance, then looked back at me. "Deal?"

For a moment I just stood there glaring at Albus—and his stupidly messy hair (a lovely inheritance from their father). I might have been mistaken (a rarity for a Malfoy, I know), when I said that James Potter was the hot-headed one; twice now, I'd been jumped on by Albus Potter. In fact, all three Potter youths seemed to have some self-control issues. At this point I wasn't exactly sure, because of lack of Potter experience, but...I think Lily Potter might be the scariest one of them all. It was true that James was frustrated and angry over the parents' relationship (who wouldn't be) and Albus was easily set off if one mentioned his mother or father in any way disparaging, but Lily..._she_, without qualms, stood up to her two older brothers, then flounced out of the room as if nothing had happened (twice now). Wishing she was in the room to help now, I sighed and nodded, then plucked up some courage and stuck out my hand. "Deal."

Albus eyed my hand for longer than I would have liked—as if I'd contracted dragon pox (or something) in the last few minutes—then slowly relented. Placing a hand in mine, my green-eyed age mate smiled tentatively. "Deal," he intoned.

"Brilliant!" James instantly burst. "Now, when are you going to owl the grandparents?"

**XxX**

I'd waited (to send the owl) until we'd all eaten breakfast, which, like supper, wasn't as dreadful as it could have been. Lily chatted through most of it and received numerous compliments for the spread she'd put out for us. Even my picky sisters ate and didn't complain—which was strange, to say the least. To be honest, I wasn't aware that our kitchen housed even _half_ of what Lily had made. Part of me suspected that she'd called in a house-elf (or three) to help her, but her father said that, though she'd gained _some_ of her cooking skills from him (Oh, Merlin, dad's boyfriend could cook?), most of her kitchen talents came from her Grandma Weasley. I wanted to puke at that name—_Weasley_—because I knew the old bint had killed _my_ grandmother's sister, but...I managed to keep the contents of my stomach where they belonged. Besides, I'd been told that my great aunt Bellatrix had been a raving lunatic. But still.

So, with breakfast finished, Father and Mr. Potter said they were going upstairs to shower and get dressed. _Yeah,_ sure _they were_, I thought as I watched my father look suggestively at his lover, then take the man's hand and pull him toward the stairwell. Oh _Merlin_, I sure hoped they'd make it up to the fourth floor before their clothing started to fall off—which, by the way, was already more sparse than necessary, in my opinion. Father, who never appeared less than properly dressed, had actually sat at the breakfast table in a bath robe, lounge wear, and slippers...and Mr. Potter looked similar. When they were gone, I turned on the others.

"Don't you _Potters_ know how to dress appropriately?" I asked them, bothered by their lack of clothing.

They all looked at me as if I were a lunatic (which I supposed they thought ran in my family).

"Oh, _come on_, not _one of you_ is dressed," I said, flinging my arm out toward them.

The three of them glanced at each other, then back at me.

"We're on break," Albus said, as if that explained things.

"And it's...Sunday," Lily put in.

"All the more reason to act more civilized," I grumbled.

All three of them grinned.

"What would you like us to wear to breakfast, Scorpius?" James asked me.

"Oh. I don't know. Maybe _CLOTHING_!" I yelled.

Albus wrinkled his nose and Lily giggled. "But, I _like_ lounging in my pyjamas on my weekends at home," the green-eyed boy said.

I rolled my eyes. "_Whatever_," I said. "I'm going to go owl the grandparents. You five..." (the twins were still there) "ought to go put on something decent. I'd be willing to bet they'll be here within the hour."

And with that I stomped away from them—trying extremely hard to ignore the buzzing in my ears as I went higher up into the house, but knowing what it meant. Father had cast another Silencing Charm around his bedroom—and that meant they were copulating again. _Brilliant_!

***~* D & H *~***

"Harry, I don't think we have much time," Draco, who was unnecessarily worried about his young daughters (who were obviously in good hands), said—then groaned when the dark-haired man dropped to his knees, wrapped his mouth around Draco's cock, and turned his lust-filled green eyes up to meet Draco's gray ones. They were in Draco's bathroom, under the hot spray in the shower, but Draco found himself wishing he was lying down (so he could relax) on his bed instead—or even the bathroom floor at this point. "You're completely insatiable, Potter, you know that?"

Harry grinned around his cock, gave it a few strong sucks, then let it slip from his mouth. "You're the one who brought me up here and insisted that we shower...together. And you _know_ how well I can resist that," he said with a snarky grin, then paused. "You're worried about the girls though, aren't you?"

Frowning, Draco shrugged. "Shouldn't I be?"

"Don't worry," Harry said with a shake of his head. "Lily'll have 'em dressed _to the nines_ before I've even come close to finishing with you."

Draco smirked. "Well, get on with it then," he said, keeping his eyes trained on his own throbbing cock—and Harry's tongue, which kept snaking out to lap at the tip.

"_Yes_," Draco moaned when Harry's wet mouth encompassed him again. "_Harder_!" he yelled as he grabbed Harry's drenched hair in both fists and thrust himself deeply into the man's throat.

Harry couldn't help himself; he gagged, then shoved the blond back and glared up at him. "You...wanker!"

"Oops. Sorry," Draco said—with very little regret in his voice.

Smirking, Harry stood up. "Seems you'd rather I hurry. I guess I can oblige," he said with a shrug before grabbing Draco roughly, turning him, and pushing him up against the wet tiled wall. "I'm going to fuck you into this here wall, Draco. Is that what you want?"

Draco tried to nod, but found that he couldn't—Harry had him pinned, his left cheek bone pressed to the cold tile—so instead, he grinned and leered at Harry over his shoulder, "Yes."

Smiling, Harry wasted no time. Grabbing the soap while kneeing the blond's legs further apart, the dark-haired man rolled the _Draco_-scented bar in his hand, then put it down and brought the sudsy hand to Draco's body—running it over his rear, then into his crack, in search of his lover's puckered hole.

"Do you want me to _fuck_ you, Draco?" Harry nearly purred, a finger from one hand penetrating the tight ring of Draco's arse, while the other hand slid around the man's waist, first going up his chest and brushing over a nipple, then pinching hard, then smoothing down his body and caressing his lover's stomach, finally dropping down to circle the blond's rigid cock.

Whimpering, Draco nodded. "Yes, Harry. _Please_ fuck me," he begged as he writhed.

Grinning, Harry alternated between kissing and nipping at Draco's jaw, then extracted his finger, nestled himself between Draco's legs, and pushed himself home—plunging as far into Draco's willing body as he possibly could without splitting him in two. "Take _that_," Harry growled as he snapped his hips forcefully, driving into the man in front of him over and over while pulling on the blond's cock with every thrust.

Pushing back into each of Harry's thrusts, Draco flattened his hands on the shower wall, bent over slightly—to give Harry better access—and dropped his forehead to the tiles. _This_ was how he liked bottoming for Harry. Harry liked to give it hard and Draco was hot for taking it that way.

"_Harder_, Harry!" the blond bellowed. Then, shuddering his release onto the shower wall, Draco's muscles betrayed him, nearly dropping him to the floor—but Harry pushed him back into the wall, so that he could finish his fuck. Screaming his own release, Harry's arms went around him and lowered them to the shower floor, where they lay crumpled, the water beating down on them until it became uncomfortably cool.

**XxX**

Straightening his tie, Draco glanced down at Harry, who was lounging casually on the bed. "Aren't you going to...you know...put yourself together?" he asked with a wave at Harry's somewhat disheveled person. Harry was dressed, but not to Draco's standards. Surprise, surprise.

"Why? Are we _going_ somewhere?" Harry asked hopefully.

"We could...if you'd like," Draco said. "We could take the children to lunch later."

Smiling, Harry sat up. "That would be nice."

Draco rolled his eyes. "If you wanted to go out, you should have just said so, Potter. I'm not a mind-reader." Then he grinned, reached out, and yanked Harry to his feet. "Well, _actually_, I am," he said, pulling Harry into his arms. Draco was a much better Occlemens than Legilimens, but he was more than proficient at both.

"But you wouldn't dare use Legilim—"

Harry was cut off by Draco's lips. "Course not, love," the blond promised as he waved a hand to take the Silencing Charm off the room—within seconds they were treated to a sharp rap on the door. "I know how much you hate that."

Attempting to step away from Draco, Harry found himself trapped in a circle of the man's arms. "You're not going anywhere, Potter," he said—then called out to whomever was knocking. "Enter."

Rolling his eyes, Harry waited.

***~* S *~***

I immediately felt it when Father's Silencing Charm dropped, so I raised a hand and knocked—and received Father's customary response. I was more than anxious about entering the room. Obviously they'd just been intimate, otherwise there'd not have been a Silencing Charm on the room, but what I was really worried about was what I had to tell them.

"Hello, son," my father said with a smile, his arms still wrapped around his boyfriend.

Mr. Potter was smiling too, but he looked a bit strange...like he was embarrassed to have been caught hugging my father. Good! But I could see that, though his hands rested on Father's hips, the embrace was being forced on him; he'd clearly _tried_ to extract himself from Father's vise-like grip before I'd come in, but the action hadn't been allowed.

My brow raised, I tried to ignore their activities and looked my father in the eye. "Grandfather and Grandmere are downstairs," I said bluntly—because I really didn't think there was any other way.

"_WHAT_!" my father bellowed—and I wondered if my grandparents could hear him three floors down. He'd instantly dropped his arms from the boyfriend and gaped at me. "That's impossible. My wards are..._strong_. How'd they get in? Did you let them through?"

Frowning, I reluctantly nodded. "Sorry, Father. I sent them a _Happy Christmas_ owl, since we didn't see them yesterday, on _Christmas_...like we _usually_ do," I added to induce some guilt, "and Grandmere immediately owled back, demanding that I drop the wards so that they could Apparate over. I'm really sorry. I just...couldn't say no."

Father stared at me for a second, then started pacing, running a hand through his perfectly sculpted hair (not so much anymore). "You should have come to me first, Scorp," he said, his eyes darting over to me. "_Warned_ me at least."

At this I laughed. "And how _exactly_ was I supposed to do that, Father?" I asked. "I mean, with the double Silencing Charm you two put on this room every time you enter it, it would be impossible to _warn_ you. And...thank _Salazar_ you do, because..._none_ of us want to listen to you two going at it like a couple of Crups in heat."

Both wide-eyed, the two older men glanced at one another. Mr. Potter's cheeks were a touch pink, but I could see that he was trying not to smile, and _Father_...well, he just looked shocked that I'd say such a thing. It was my father who responded.

"You're obviously not happy for me, Scorpius," he said sadly. "If nothing else, I _am_ sorry about that."

I frowned again. It wasn't that I didn't want my father to be happy. I did. Absolutely. He totally deserved some happiness after all this time. But, why did it have to be Harry Potter? "I'm sorry, Father. I shouldn't have said that," I admitted, and meant it—even though I still wasn't pleased about the situation. "What shall I tell Grandfather and Grandmere?"

"How about that I was called away on an emergency," he said with a straight face.

"And, what excuse should I give them as to why you left the twins home alone with just me?" I asked, because Father had always been adamant that I not be expected to care for my sisters—because _he_ was their father and I was a teen who should be allowed a certain amount of freedom and privacy, which didn't include any kind of childcare.

He frowned at this—then sighed. "Tell them...nothing."

I raised a brow.

"I suppose I will have to go down and handle this," he said, straightening first his tie, and then his hair. "Where are the girls?"

I swallowed, dreading what I had to tell him. "Um. They're downstairs...opening Grandfather and Grandmere's Christmas gifts. It looks like the room exploded with presents."

"And..._my_ children?" Mr. Potter asked, finally saying something.

"They're in the parlour," I said. "We figured they should remain out of sight...for now."

Both Father and Mr. Potter nodded. "Probably best," they said in unison, visibly relaxing—some.

"Right then. I'll go down," my father said—then he looked at his boyfriend. "Are you coming?"

"What? _Me_?" the dark-haired man said. "Do you really think that's wise, Draco?"

My father shrugged. "Might as well get this over with," he said bravely.

Mr. Potter frowned. "I don't know," he said, full of skepticism.

"Oh, _come on_, Potter...summon some of that well-known Gryffindork courage and do the right thing."

The boyfriend laughed. "Fine then."

But then Father held up a hand. "Maybe I should go down first though...to prepare them," he said. "Give me...I don't know...ten minutes..._twenty_...before you come down."

Harry Potter smirked. "All right, Mr. _Summon-some-courage_, I can do that. I'll just wait for a signal that it's safe to come down."

My father smiled (nervously), then said, "Right then. And...straighten yourself up, Potter, before you come down to meet my parents. You look so...plebian!"

"Pfft! As if _this_ is the first time I've _met your parents_," Mr. Potter scoffed with a roll of his brilliant green eyes—but he did glance at himself in Father's gigantic wall mirror and frown, as if he too were worried about his appearance. "Should I put on a—"

"No, a tie's not necessary, Harry," my father said as he reached for his boyfriend and pulled him in for a kiss—making me glance away from them. Ew! "It's only my parents."

Mr. Potter must have pulled a face or raised a brow, because Father said, "I don't care what they think, love. _Really_."

* insert kissing noises here *

"I only care about you. I want _you_ to be comfortable," my father said.

Blech!

More kissing.

Gag.

"Oh good, because...I didn't bring one," Mr. Potter said.

I still wasn't looking at them—my eyes were instead focused on Father's extensive collection of questionably-legal books (which _Auror_ Potter apparently ignored)—but I could hear the mirth in Potter's voice; it was disgusting! And I could almost _feel_ my father roll his eyes at his boyfriend's lack of sophistication and planning.

"Nice, Potter! What if I'd made reservations somewhere fancy?"

At this, I _did_ roll my eyes. _'Fancy.'_ Really, _Father?_ I thought, wondering when _that_ word had entered his vernacular for this particular meaning. And then I remembered who he was dating.

"I'd just Apparate home and get one, of course," Mr. Potter said logically. "Or, borrow one of yours. I'd be willing to wager that you have an infinite supply of neckties, Draco."

Father smiled (I was looking at them again; they'd forgotten I was there). "That I do, but you shouldn't be so presumptuous."

Mr. Potter chuckled and looked about to respond—then he remembered my presence and straightened away from my father. "Well, you ought to get down there. Don't want to keep good old Lucius waiting."

Father grinned. "I'm actually more concerned about Mother, but...thanks," he said. Giving the dark-haired man yet _another_ kiss (I don't think, in the all the years before my mother had passed, that I'd seen so many kisses for no apparent reason), he turned to face me. "Let's go then."

Nodding, I turned as well and walked out.

**XxX**

On the second floor I turned into the parlour, where three Potters were lounging, waiting for me to return—where the _four of us_ would wait until Father passed, on his way to the first floor lounge, before we went down to sit on the stairs—to spy. It was Lily's idea, of course, because she's a nosey little bint—not that I blamed her; I too wanted to know what the bloody hell was happening down there with the parents and grandparents.

"You stay here," I said before casting a Disillusionment Charm on myself. They nodded, but James looked irritated—and I could just hear him whisper (hiss) a, "_Why can't we all just do that_?" to the other two as I left them sitting on the stairs.

"Happy Christmas, Mother...Father," I heard my father say as I slowly (quietly) maneuvered my invisible self into the room.

"Oh, the same to you, darling," my grandmother said. Standing, she embraced my father, then air-kissed each of his cheeks, then held his face and looked deeply into his eyes. "It is so good to see you, sweetheart. It has been far too long."

"Yes. It has," Father said, giving her a curt nod, then moving out of her grasp and to the liquor cabinet. "I do apologize for keeping you waiting. I was just...showering. Drink?"

"At ten o'clock in the morning, dear?" Grandmere questioned with a frown.

Father frowned too. I wasn't sure whether my grandmother was referring to it being too early in the day for a drink or the fact that it was rather late to just be putting one's self together, but I moved my invisible self up next to my father and poked at the bottle of Firewhisky—causing him to spill it.

"Damn it!" he hissed, glaring at the place he believed me to be. I smiled, but of course he didn't see it.

"_Father_?" my father offered, holding up the bottle.

Nodding, my grandfather moved closer, accepting the glass once it was filled and proffered, then sipping.

Grandmere looked between her husband and son with obvious disapproval. She then glanced down at her granddaughters—they were playing nicely, quietly babbling in their own made up language (that twins sometimes have)—then glided over to where we were standing. I had to move so that she wouldn't walk into me.

"Isn't it a bit early for a drink, darling?" she asked her husband, eyeing his glass—and noticing that my father wasn't holding one.

"Absolutely not," Grandfather snapped, then downed his Firewhisky and narrowed his eyes at my father. "Tell me, Draco...who is this '_Da-da'_ of which our granddaughters speak?"

Smiling, because it was just like my grandfather to get right to the point, I looked at my father—whose brow twitched nervously.

"Well...ahh...I've actually been seeing someone, Father," he admitted—because there was no way out of it.

"And they are calling him Da-da _already_?" Grandfather burst.

My father hesitated a moment, then nodded. "They are."

Pursing his lips, my grandfather picked up the bottle of Firewhisky, poured himself another two fingers, then downed it immediately—then picked up the bottle again and took it with him to the sofa, where he sat down heavily.

My father blinked, obviously distressed by his father's reaction. "I thought you understood, Father, that there'd not be any more women in my life now that Astoria is gone," he said. "That I am, in fact, _gay_."

"Yes, I think you made that perfectly clear when you showed up at the Manor two years ago with that...that _damned_ American," Grandfather said with disgust.

"Lucius, that's not...appropriate," my grandmother whispered, her eyes going to where my sisters sat, obliviously playing with their new toys. "Mind your tongue; the walls have ears, dear."

"_If only you knew_," my father hissed under his breath—referring to my invisible presence, I supposed.

"I think your father is just worried about _the girls_, darling," Grandmere went on in a whisper. "I mean, if _they're_ calling this man _Da-da_, then...this is rather serious."

My father folded his arms over his chest like a petulant child and said, "It _is_ serious, Mother. I...I _love_ this man."

I cringed, because..._love_? So soon?

"So, it's not going to be a discrete affair then?" asked Grandfather, his hope obviously lost.

Father shook his head. "Not for much longer, no," he said, his hand unconsciously moving to his stomach. I could tell that my grandfather didn't notice, but Grandmere might have. She'd _definitely_ noticed Father's lack of drinking, but maybe not the gentle caress of his belly.

Mumbling something I couldn't quite catch, my grandfather threw back another drink.

"Is that why you've been avoiding us, dear?" my grandmother asked. "Because you've been busy with your new love?"

Father frowned. "Well...ahh...sort of. Har..." Father caught himself and stopped just short of saying Mr. Potter's name. "I've known..._this person_ for years, Mother...we've only just recently found ourselves to be quite attracted to one another."

My grandfather gave a rather un-Malfoy-like snort, saying, "Apparently it's _more than_ attraction."

But he was ignored.

Grandmere smiled at Father. "That's wonderful, darling. I'm so happy for you. When can we meet him?"

At this my father swallowed; it looked like he was trying to swallow a Snitch. "Well, it's interesting that you should ask, because...well, he's actually here."

"Oh. _Splendid_!" my grandmother said with a delighted clap of her hands.

"_Superb_," my grandfather grumbled, his tone laced with sarcasm—then surprised me by lifting the Firewhisky _bottle_ to his lips.

"And, you've met him before actually," Father went on quickly—causing Grandfather to perk up.

"So, he's British then?" he asked, as if that were immensely important to him.

"Yes, Father. We went to Hogwarts together," my father said.

"Older or younger?"

"We're the same age, Father."

"Please tell me it's not that Zabini friend of yours...his mother is frightening. How many husbands has that woman had now anyway?"

Shaking his head, my father actually smiled at this. "It is not Blaise, Father. And, I have no idea how many times Lady Zabini has been married. Quite a few."

My grandfather nodded. "Or Goyle. It's not Gregory Goyle, is it? That man is as much of a lout as was his father."

At this my father rolled his eyes. "Greg isn't gay, Father, so...no, it's not him," he said. "Not that I'd date _him_. Give me some credit."

"Well, that's a relief," Grandfather said. "Was he _at least_ in Slytherin House?"

Father frowned, then shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Nott's the only other Slytherin from my year and he's married. You were at Theo's wedding, Father...remember?"

"Ravenclaw then?" my grandfather asked hopefully, ignoring Father's question.

Father shook his head—causing my grandfather to pale.

"So, _that's_ why we've not yet been introduced," Grandmere put in.

"Partly," Father admitted.

Then, glancing at where he thought I might be, he gave an infinitesimal nod toward the stairs, obviously telling me it was time to go fetch his boyfriend. I hated to leave and miss even the tiniest thing, but, obediently, I did what I was told. It turned out I didn't have far to go, because Mr. Potter was sitting at the top of the stairs with his children. He stood up when I took the Disillusionment Charm off myself and looked down at me with obvious nervousness. It was somewhat laughable, that the _great_ Harry Potter was nervous about seeing Father's parents again. But I supposed it made sense; he obviously knew that he wasn't a favorite of theirs.

"Father wants you to come down," I said.

"But he said twenty minutes," the dark-haired man protested.

I rolled my eyes.

Sighing, the man turned toward his daughter and said, "How do I look?"

"Great, Dad," she said with a bright smile as she brushed nonexistent lint off his shirt.

And that's when we heard Grandfather's sneering bellow coming from the great room, "YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY _NOT_ DATING HARRY _BLOODY_ POTTER?"

Wide-eyed, Mr. Potter looked at us, then said, "All right then. I suppose that's my cue, yes?"

The four of us nodded.

He then looked at me, handed me something silvery and silky, then disappeared down the stairs.

"That's dad's invisibility cloak," Albus informed me, "so you can continue to spy. He's afraid your Disillusionment Charm will falter if any magic gets tossed around. Oh! And he wanted us to tell you that you should get out of there should that happen...the magic, I mean."

Nodding, I glanced down at the slippery material. "Do I just—"

"Toss it over your head," Lily finished, taking it from me and draping it over my person; it covered all of me, and was made out of the most fantastic-feeling fabric.

"Can you see me?" I asked, then moved so that I wasn't where I had been.

"Of course not, you twat!" James snapped. "You're under an _invisibility_ cloak."

Smiling, I started away—then I turned and whispered, "Thanks."

When I entered the room I noticed that things had heated up. My grandfather looked furious and Grandmere was trying to calm him, but Father and Mr. Potter looked quite at ease.

***~* D & H *~***

"Darling," Narcissa Malfoy said as she placed her hands on her husband's cloaked chest, "all that _really_ matters now is that our Draco is happy."

"_Happy_?" Lucius queried, his brow wrinkling slightly in his consternation. "With Harry _damned_ Potter? Impossible! I think not!"

"It's true, Father," Draco put in, taking Harry's hand. "I assure you that we're _blissfully_ happy."

Ignoring his son—and the nonsense he was spewing—the eldest Malfoy went on. "That boy is _the reason_ our side lost the war," he argued, pointing at Harry, but looking only at his wife. "Or have you forgotten so soon..._darling_?"

Narcissa pursed her lips. "Lucius..._darling_," she said, raising a hand to lovingly caress her husband's face. "Of _course_ I've not forgotten that horrific time. It was just _dreadful_." She shuddered at the memories. "But it's long-since over. Twenty-three _years_ over, in fact. It's time to move on, dear."

"Move _on_?" Lucius repeated, his brow now more than _slightly_ wrinkled. "How can you say that when The-Boy-Who-Lived ruined _everything_! That boy was supposed to die. I will _never_ be able to—"

"Are you _really_ that perturbed the Dark Lord has fallen?" Narcissa interrupted, looking exasperated. "After _all_ he put us through. That maniac took over the Manor, made us live in fear...controlled our _every_ move. He _threatened_ our son. And that's not to mention all the other atrocities he made others commit in his name. Is that _really_ the kind of man you'd like to be following, dear?"

Frowning, Lucius didn't answer.

"And, can you not see that _that boy_ has grown into quite a handsome _man_? And that our son clearly _adores_ him?" Never taking her eyes off her husband, Narcissa raised a hand and gestured at the other two men—Draco was now casually sitting on the arm of one of his sofas, his boyfriend standing quietly beside him, their hands still clasped. "_And_, if you recall, it was this _man_ who saved our family from a fate worse than death?"

Lucius blinked—then his eyes narrowed. "Only after he _ruined_ us!" he snapped, his lip curling.

Narcissa shook her head. "We ruined ourselves, dear," the older woman said. "That was in no way Mr. Potter's doing."

"Mother is right, Father," Draco chimed in, though quietly. "Harry saved us all."

"But, Draco...son, must you _dally_ with _Potter_?" Lucius Malfoy asked without even looking at the third man in the room. "Couldn't you...find someone more in your league? Someone—"

"Oh, for _Merlin's_ sake, Father!" Draco finally burst while rising to his feet. "I've been _dallying_ Potter off and on since our last year at Hogwarts! Get over it!"

"_Draco_! Darling, must you be so crude?" asked Narcissa, a disapproving look pinching up her pretty face.

"I am sorry, Mother," Draco apologized, "but it's the truth. When we went back to finish our seventh year, Harry and I roomed together; it started then."

Narcissa frowned, then glanced down at her granddaughters. "Fine, but not in front of the girls. Such talk is...inappropriate," she lectured.

Draco rolled his eyes. "They're much too young to understand any of this, Mother," the man whispered. "And besides, I'm not ashamed of myself _or_ my boyfriend."

"But, Draco...darling," Narcissa protested, "what about Astoria and the time you were...with her?"

With a frown, Draco let his eyes rake across the room, wondering if his son was still close by, then said, "I would rather not discuss my deceased wife at this time, Mother, if you don't mind."

Blinking, Narcissa suddenly seemed to catch on—there might be someone else in the room that her son didn't want hearing their conversation. "Of course not," she agreed after scanning the room. "That would be poor form."

Draco nodded, but knew the conversation was not at an end; if his mother wanted more details about his love life, he knew she'd stop at nothing to get them...even if she had to wait until a more opportune moment to interrogate him—or gather the information from others (Daphne and/or his friends) if necessary.

Lucius, however, was _not_ finished.

Looking from his wife to his son (and completely ignoring Harry Potter), Lucius Malfoy scowled, then threw his arms up in the air. "Have you people _lost your minds_?"

Narcissa glanced at her son, then back at her husband. "I think not, Lucius," she responded. "I think we've finally _found_ our minds...at least, our dear Draco has...found his heart, at least." Turning, Narcissa smiled at her son, and then at his boyfriend.

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," Harry said when he saw warmth in the woman's usually cold (and indifferent) blue eyes.

"You are quite welcome, dear," she said as she moved across the room to stand in front of Harry and Draco. "And please...call me Narcissa. It seems silly to be so formal after all this time."

Surprised, Harry gave the woman a tentative smile—until he felt Draco give his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Thank you. That is very kind...Narcissa," he finished lamely. It felt odd to call this woman by name, especially with a past such as theirs, but he figured he'd have to get used to it; better sooner, rather than later. "You don't know how much this means to me."

Smiling brightly, Narcissa Malfoy leaned forward and took Harry into her arms. "This is wonderful," she said afterward. "Though, I'm afraid I didn't know you'd be here; I would have brought gifts."

"That's really quite all right, Mrs. Malfoy—"

"Uh-uh," the blonde woman cut in with a shake of her head and a wag of a long, elegantly manicured index finger.

"Right. Sorry, Narcissa," Harry corrected himself. "Gifts are completely unnecessary though."

"Nonsense!" she said with a dismissive wave of her hand before nodding decisively. "We'll just...have to go shopping!"

At this Draco rolled his eyes, knowing that his boyfriend was _not_ ready for one of Narcissa Malfoy's shopping expeditions. "Mother, we are _not_ going—"

"Oh!" Narcissa burst, interrupting her son. "Harry has children. Where are your children, Harry?" she asked. "I _must_ meet them."

"Mother, it's too soon," Draco whispered, his tone pleading for understanding.

Narcissa frowned. "How can it be too soon if you've been dating him for years, darling?"

"Good question," Lucius quipped from behind. "Maybe you could clarify the specifics for us. Is this..._insanity_," Lucius said, waving his hand between Draco and Harry, "a _recent_ development or ongoing? Because, I am most definitely confused."

Draco sighed, then fixed his father with a look. "If you _must know_," he said, "the dating part is quite recent, but the actual _fucking_ has been going on for _years_!"

At this Narcissa starting tsking her disapproval, but wasn't given time to verbalize her displeasure with it.

"And furthermore," Draco went on, his voice raising somewhat with his frustration, "I'd bloody well like you to keep your snide comments about my relationships to your _damned_ self, Father...for once! This is _my_ life and—"

"That is where you are wrong, Draconis Scorpius Lucius Abraxas Phelan Lucien Arnaud Maximus _Malfoy_," Lucius cut in, using Draco's full name as a way to assert his authority over his son. Lucius had maneuvered himself around his wife—who'd moved to place herself between her now-staring granddaughters and the men in her life—and had come to stand in front of his surprisingly belligerent son. "As long as you're living on _my_ Galleons, it is not entirely _your_ life!"

Ignoring the use of his name in entirety—he was long-past caring—Draco rolled his eyes. "Father, I have not been _living on your Galleons_ since I moved my family out of the Manor three years ago, so...get over yourself!"

Frowning, Lucius glanced at his wife. "Narcissa?"

"It is true, dear," she admitted. "I gave Draco his inheritance from the Black side of the family shortly after Astoria passed."

"How could you _do_ such a thing, and without discussing it with _me_ first?" he sneered.

"Contrary to popular belief, I do not discuss all my actions with you, dear," Narcissa said, looking down her nose at her husband.

Lucius scowled. "But _I_ am the head of the household."

Pursing her lips, the blonde woman shrugged and went on. "Draco came to me and said he needed some separation. He presented a viable argument. I agreed that it was time, so I gave it to him. I did not, however, expect to be pushed aside as well," she said, sending her son a disgruntled glare.

Draco just stood there. He felt some regret that he'd shut his mother out of their lives, but he'd felt desperate at the time. He'd _needed_ to get away from both his parents. "I'm sorry, Mother, I just..." Shaking his head, he let his words trail off.

Narcissa waved Draco's excuses off. She wasn't happy about what her only child had done, but she did understand (mostly), because she too had felt the need to run off. In fact, she _had_ run off once—but that was another story. Right now she had to focus on her husband and his fury.

"I _cannot_ believe you would betray me so, _wife_!" the older man snapped. Where he'd used his son's full name in an attempt to garner control over the man, he relegated his spouse to her title to show his displeasure with her behavior. "To go behind my back and—"

"Oh, Lucius! _Do_ shut up!" the blonde woman snapped, her blue eyes flashing with anger. "It is a matter that occurred over three years ago. It is over and done."

Lucius just stared—and then, with a violent snapping of his cloak, he headed for the stairs...stopping for a moment before going down. After glancing _up_ the stairs—where he'd obviously seen Harry Potter's three children sitting, listening to the entire conversation—the older man cast another baleful glare back at his son (and at Harry), then swept from the room. The last thing all occupants of Draco's flat heard was the distinguishable _CRACK_ of Disapparation as the man left via the entryway.

"Well, _that_ went well, if I do say so myself," Draco said with a sigh as he looked to his boyfriend for reassurance. "What do you think?"

His brilliant green eyes wide, Harry could only stare at the blond man.

"I absolutely do _not_ agree, darling," Draco's mother drawled. "I mean, _honestly_, how could you spring this on us? And on _Boxing_ Day!"

Sighing again, Draco said, "If you remember correctly, Mother, I did not _spring this on you_. It was you and Father who showed up on _my_ doorstep and just barged in. _I_ was waiting for a more _opportune_ time, but..."

Narcissa frowned. "Be that as it may," she said, "I _have_ missed you, darling." She immediately went over and wrapped her arms around her son. "I beg you, _please_ don't keep yourself from me."

Stiffly, Draco hugged his mother back, nodding. "If you will please keep your visits to the non-just-drop-in variety, then I promise to stop ignoring your owls.

Pulling back and holding her son at arm's length, Narcissa looked her son up and down, then pursed her lips. "I can do that if I'm guaranteed _regular_ invites. And I want access to my grandchildren," she demanded.

"Of course, Mother," Draco said, smiling down at her.

"And that means _all_ of them," she said, her eyes going to Harry. "Care to fill me in, darlings?"

"Ahh...w-what do you mean, Mother?" Draco asked, his eyes also going to Harry.

Rolling her eyes, Narcissa Malfoy shook her head. "You never were a very good liar, Little Dragon," she said. "Not when it came to _me_, at least. Don't think I didn't notice that you didn't have a drink with your father...or that both you and Harry can't keep your hands off one another. More specifically...off each other's middles."

"We...love each other, Mother," Draco said, his gaze going back to Harry as his hands snaked out to pull the dark-haired man close.

"I love you too," Harry whispered—his face a touch pink, because Draco's mother was present the first time he told his lover that he loved him.

Grinning, Draco slid his right hand from Harry's shoulder, down his chest to his belly, where he gently caressed him. "I know," Draco said arrogantly.

"Pfft! You are _such_ a prat!" Harry said with a ridiculously silly grin as he leaned in and gave his boyfriend a lingering kiss. "But...it's true...I do," Harry said between kisses.

"As _stimulating_ as the view is, dears," Narcissa said after clearing her throat, "I need you to cut the crap!"

Both Draco and Harry seemed to remember that there were others in the room. "Sorry, Mother," Draco apologized, "we didn't mean to get carried away."

"Yes, sorry, Mrs...Narcissa," said Harry, changing what he was calling her mid-sentence, but not taking his eyes off Draco.

"You two are worse than a couple of randy teenagers," she said with a roll of her eyes, then she snapped her fingers a couple of times with impatience—and to get their attention. "Draco..._darling_...I want to know which one of you is pregnant and I want to know _right now_!"

At this both men froze and looked at her.

"W-what?" was all Draco could manage.

"It's really a simple question, dear," Narcissa pushed on when neither man gave her an actual answer. "It's either _you_ or _Harry_ who's carrying my fourth grandchild, and I'd like to know who..._immediately_!"

Draco blinked. "Um...Mother, it's really _not_ that simple," he started.

"Yes, it really _is_, Draco," she said, her tone becoming somewhat aggravated. "You...or Harry?"

Draco and Harry looked at each other, then back at the woman—then they responded in unison. "Both of us, actually."

For a second Narcissa Malfoy stared at them, her blue eyes wide in her astonishment—then she inched closer to them, her fingers itching to touch them. "_Both_ of you?" she asked, her hands hovering over their bellies, but not actually touching them. "But...male pregnancy is so _rare_."

"So we've been told," Draco said.

"How did this _happen_?" she asked.

"Hmm. I wouldn't ask Draco that question, if I were you, Narcissa. His explanation is...somewhat vulgar," Harry said, remembering how Draco had once explained their predicament to him (_Well, when I stuck my cock up your arse and came...and vice versa...we both became pregnant._).

At this Draco chuckled and gave Harry a playful slap on the chest—which caused Narcissa to gasp in horror. "Such violence between you two will absolutely _not_ happen again!" the woman said scoldingly. "Ever!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "I was just playing, Mother. I would never hurt Harry."

Harry nodded. "It was all in good fun, Narcissa," he agreed.

"I don't care. You two will cease striking one another _this_ instant!" she said as she poked her son in the chest with a fingernail. "Now, how far along are you?" she asked, reverting back to their conversation about pregnancy, and fighting the urge to place her hands on them—then failing and placing a hand on each of their bellies.

"We're both due mid-June, Narcissa," Harry answered, smiling because it felt _good_ to have someone interested in their strangely rare condition. He'd always heard that women didn't like it when people just came up and touched their bellies, like they had a right to do such a thing, but Narcissa's loving touch only sent warm feelings through him.

She nodded. "Not quite four months. Do you know the sex of the babies?" she asked next.

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but Draco put a finger to his lips. "Let's just say you will be getting a grandson and a granddaughter and we'll let who's having which be a surprise."

Narcissa grinned. "Excellent, darling," she said. "A surprise. What a _wonderful_ idea!"

"I'm glad you think so, Mother," Draco said.

"May I attend your next Healer's appointment?" she asked them both hopefully—then hurried on when it appeared that they weren't receptive. "It's just been so long. I'm so excited."

Glancing at one another, the two men shrugged. "Sure, Mother, that would be fine."

Grinning, Narcissa pulled them both forward into an embrace, then shoved them (gently) onto the sofa. "Are you hungry? I'll prepare you a meal," she offered.

Harry grabbed her hand before she could run off. "That's really not necessary, Narcissa," he said. "My daughter Lily already fed all of us."

"Oh." At once, the woman dropped onto the sofa beside her son's chosen man. "I know I'm being a touch aggressive and...I _really_ don't mean to be, but—"

Draco snorted. "Mother, you're _always_ aggressive and you _always_ mean to be."

Narcissa rolled her eyes. "No need to disclose such things, Draco, darling," she said, her gaze going to Harry again. "May I meet the rest of your family, Harry, dear?"

Nodding, Harry said, "Sure. They're _all_ here...and they're all eavesdropping. _Kids_?"

And that's when the three Potter children made their appearance, Lily Potter in front of her brothers.

"Oh. They're such dears," Narcissa said, rising from the sofa to greet Harry's children properly.

"Dis is Wiwy Pahtah, Gwandmewe," Cassie Malfoy said, suddenly getting up and joining the conversation.

Narcissa's eyes widened at hearing her granddaughter's voice—she was impressed, because this was the child who rarely spoke. "It is lovely to meet you, Lily," she said. "You look _very much_ like your namesake."

"You knew our Grandma Potter?" Lily asked, surprised because she'd not met too many people who'd known the woman.

Narcissa gave a tight nod. "Not well, mind you," she said, "I was a sixth year when she started at Hogwarts, and she was in Gryffindor, whereas I was in Slytherin House, so...just in passing. But I have it on good authority that she had an 'intuitive grasp of potion-making', which has always been a fine art, wherein Slytherin has excelled."

Lily Potter grinned. "_I'm_ in Slytherin House as well," she said loftily—making both her brothers snort.

"Is that so?" Narcissa said, sending a glance toward Harry and Draco. "How very interesting."

"My brothers are Gryffindors though," Lily went on, her nose wrinkling as if that fact were downright repulsive.

Narcissa smiled. "I am not at all surprised, given the fact that both your parents were sorted into Gryffindor."

"This is Albus and this is James," Lily said, introducing her mostly-silent siblings.

"It is very nice to meet you, boys," Narcissa said as she eyed Harry Potter's two sons. "And, oh _my_, you look nearly identical to your father, dear...when he was your age."

"I get that a lot," Albus said with an embarrassed smile—then added, "Er...thank you."

"You have his eyes...and your grandmother's."

Albus continued to smile.

"And I must say that _you_, dear," she said, her eyes shifting to James, "are a remarkably even mixture of both your mother _and_ your father."

"Pfft! Yeah, but he acts more like my uncles George and Ron," Lily quipped. "Pain in the..._behind_, this one."

This gained her a dirty look from James, but everyone else chuckled.

"And, where is my grandson?" Narcissa then asked.

"He's here, Mother," Draco said to the woman—then to the room at large, he went on. "You might as well show yourself, Scorpius."

"Hello, Grandmere," Scorpius said, suddenly appearing not too great a distance from the group. He'd pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak, mussing up his hair, and now just stood there looking embarrassed to have been caught listening to the goings on. Quickly, he handed the shimmering cloak to his father's boyfriend, smoothed out his hair, then moved forward to greet his grandmother. "Happy Christmas."

"What are we going to do with you children?" Narcissa said with a shake of her head, pretending to be annoyed by their spying. Then she narrowed her eyes at their fathers. "I wonder where they learned such dastardly deeds."

"Not from us," Draco denied as he looked at Harry and frowned.

Looking clueless, Harry shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, Narcissa."

Narcissa Malfoy rolled her eyes. "Well, gentlemen, I think we should all go shopping."

Draco shook his head straight away. "Not a chance, Mother," he said—much to the relief of the three teenage boys. "We're using this time to get to know each other and _shopping_, of any kind, is not on the itinerary."

Narcissa immediately pouted. "But, darling, how am _I_ to get to know everyone if I'm not permitted any time with Harry and his children?"

Draco frowned. "It's too soon for one of your shopping excursions, Mother," he argued. "And don't _even_ suggest a short outing to France."

"_France_?" Lily burst. "I've never been to France, Mr. Malfoy." Her eyes swinging to her own father, she said, "I'd like to go shopping in France, dad. Can't we go..._please_?"

Draco glared daggers at his mother, but Harry only chuckled. "Not today, Lil," the dark-haired man said. "Sorry."

"Thank _Merlin_!" all three teenage boys whispered (quite loudly).

"Perhaps another time then, Lily," Narcissa promised. "If not before, then sometime next summer. We'll take the twins and make a holiday of it."

Lily grinned, her excitement practically bubbling off of her. "Can I, dad?"

Harry glanced from his daughter to Draco's mother, then back again. "I suppose that would be fine with me...if it's all right with Draco."

All eyes turned on the blond man. "Oh sure, leave it up to me," he said irritably—then sighed. "We'll have to discuss it, but...it seems like it might work."

Still grinning, Lily clapped her hands, then, surprising both men, she threw her arms around both her father and Draco. "Thank you!"

"Could we _at least_ have afternoon tea tomorrow?" Narcissa Malfoy asked once Harry's exuberant daughter was finished hugging the two men.

Frowning, Draco looked at the man he loved, then sighed with resignation. "All right. Fine, Mother," he relented. "Where shall we meet for tea?"

"How about my tea room?" she suggested warily.

"At Malfoy Manor?" Draco said with a frown. "I don't know, Mother." He looked over at Harry nervously.

"It's fine, Draco," Harry said. "I don't have a problem with that."

"But what about Father?" Draco asked his mother. "His reaction to Harry wasn't exactly favorable."

Narcissa waved dismissively. "You know your father, dear; he puts up quite a fight, but, in the end, I _always_ win. Besides, Lucius doesn't really hate you, Harry," she said to her son's lover. "He's just...a difficult man."

* * *

**Author's Note  
**

I've noticed that some scene breaks have disappeared on upload. All I can say is that I'm sorry...and that it frustrates me too. *sigh* **ETA: **I hope it's fixed now. I had to change what I was using to **XxX**...which looks strange to me...but at least it seems to be fixed.

* * *

**Extra Information**

I'm not sure if the following will make sense (or if the *~*~*'s will post properly), but...just thought I'd post it anyway. =)

**Animal** *~*~*~* **Young** *~*~*~* **Female** *~*~*~*~* **Male**

_Ferret_ *~*~*~*~* kit *~*~*~*~*~* jill *~*~*~*~*~*~ hob  
_Weasel_ *~*~*~*~ pup *~*~*~ bitch, doe, jill *~* buck, dog, hub, jack


	3. Day Three

**XxX  
**

**Coming Together for the Holidays**

(some thoughts on the matter)

**Day Three**

(Monday, December 27, 2021)

***~* Lily Luna Potter *~***

The three boys had had their heads together all night. To be honest, I'm not actually sure they ever _went_ to bed. From the _boys'_ point of view, yesterday's meeting with Scorpius' grandparents had started off well—since they _wanted_ Lucius Malfoy to object and/or explode over the parents' relationship (and he did...sort of). But the tenor of the day rapidly shifted so that the _parents_ were quite pleased. The Malfoy patriarch had stormed out, furious, of course, but that was not so for his wife. Narcissa Malfoy had given our fathers her blessings—_and_ she'd promised to take _me_ shopping in France as soon as possible. Dad said it probably wouldn't happen until the following summer, but Grandmere Cissa (that's what she asked me to call her) said she'd do everything in her power to make it sooner..._as soon as possible_. I could hardly wait! Not that I was a huge shopper, in general; I just wanted to do so in France!

So...the boys. The stupid, stupid, _stupid_ boys! They were still on their mission to break up the dads. I'd not stayed to listen to any of their nonsense...though, possibly I _should_ have, so that I could at least give some warning if and/or when their shenanigans began in earnest. But I didn't. Instead, I went up to my room and wrote _Grandmere Cissa_ a letter. Before she'd left the night before, she'd asked me to write her a letter telling her about each of us. And so I did; I told her everything I could possibly think of...except for some things that my dad might not want anyone else to know. Then, very early in the morning when I figured everyone would still be in bed sleeping, I snuck off to Mr. Malfoy's attic, where I'd been told I could find an owl.

"What were you doing up there?" Scorpius Malfoy asked me as I descended the steps to the third floor.

A little startled—but not showing it (because I'm a Slytherin!)—I stopped and stared at him. "Just checking on the girls," I lied—then quickly turned and walked toward the room that had been given to me during our stay. It was only a half-lie though, because I actually _had_ checked on the twins, but it felt weird all the same—and I could tell that the blond was frowning at my retreating back. I hoped my answer was enough to send him (and his nosey questions) on his way. It wasn't that I didn't like him—he seemed nice enough—but I didn't much care for the undertaking the boys had set themselves upon and wanted nothing to do with it. As if _that_ were possible with the three of them behaving like the Beardsley and North children from the old Yours, Mine and Ours movies. Thank _Merlin_ dad and Mr. Malfoy didn't have _that_ many children! Goodness, could you imagine a family with eighteen children? Just the thought made me a smidge queasy.

"In the attic?" Scorpius pressed.

Obviously he'd followed me. Bollocks! Stopping again, I swung around to find him right there on my heels, his gray eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Excuse me?" I stalled. "What was that about the attic?"

Scorpius' eyes narrowed further (if that were possible). "Don't play dumb with me, Lily _Potter_," he all but sneered. "You and I both _know_ you weren't checking on my sisters. _You_," he said, poking a long sender finger in the air at me, "were in our attic."

I frowned. "I absolutely _did_ check on them, _Malfoy_!" I snapped, using his surname because he'd used mine—and because I was angry that he'd accuse me of lying (completely). "They're both still asleep, if you care to know, though I do believe they'll be rising shortly."

Scorpius shifted on his feet, clearly taken aback by my sudden anger, but pushed on anyway. "All right. Fine!" he snapped back. "You checked on the girls...thank you! _Then_ you went up into the attic. I want to know why."

I rolled my eyes. "To send an owl, of course," I said with an exasperated sigh, then turned and hurried into my room. "Why else would I go up there?"

"Good question. Who were you owling?" he asked suspiciously as he came to an abrupt halt in my doorway.

"Not that it's any of _your_ business, Malfoy, but...I promised your grandmother that I'd send her an owl today. Spent the better part of last night composing it, mind you, while you three were plotting disaster for us all."

Scorpius frowned. "But...why?"

"I'm not sure what you're asking," I said with irritation. "Why did I promise her I'd owl or...why did she want me to? Or, why did it take so long to write a measly letter?"

Scorpius shrugged, his usually perfect blond hair a bit tousled from sleep. "All of that, I suppose."

"I owled her, because I said I would. I said I would, because she asked me to. And she obviously asked me to so that she could get to know us better," I explained. "Or, at least that's what I _think_ she wanted. She instructed me to tell her _all about_ us Potters. I didn't tell her _everything_, of course. She may have an ulterior motive. Do you suppose she plans to use the information I sent her to somehow bring back Voldemort, so he can kill my dad?" I asked, my voice chock-full of sarcasm.

The blond glared at me.

"Your grandfather would love that, wouldn't he? Voldemort back, my father dead, Muggles and Mudbloods cowering at Voldy's old moldy feet," I said, then bit my lip to keep from saying anything more—because I knew my words were uncalled for.

And Scorpius frowned at me. "You're not being very nice, Lily Potter," he accused. "Grandfather's a bitter old man and...he's done a lot of awfully horrible things in his past, but...he doesn't want your father _dead_."

"Are you sure about that?" I whispered.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I know he's sorry for all the things he's done. He doesn't show it, but...I _know_ he is."

I frowned, then shrugged. "Whatever, Malfoy," I said as I turned and started hunting for something to wear.

"So...you were up late writing?" he asked.

Looking at the blond again, I nodded. "Yes. Took _forever_ to write. I didn't want to sound like a complete idiot to your grandmother. She wanted to know all about us and I wanted to represent our family in such a way that she'd see beyond what she already knew about my dad. I know our families' histories quite well; it's not good."

He nodded as well. "Sounds like Grandmere." Frowning, the boy eyed me. "Why are you so dead set on our fathers being together?" he asked me.

"First of all, I'm not _dead set_ on anything...I just want my dad to be happy and, apparently, _your_ father makes him happy, so..." I shrugged. "And second, they're kind of cute together, don't you think?"

At this the blond scowled. "Absolutely not!"

I couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Is that because they're gay or because you hate us Potters so much?"

He blinked. "I don't hate you Potters at all," he said.

"Pfft! Could have fooled me."

"I don't. Really," he said. "It's just..."

"So, it's the gay thing then, huh?"

Quickly, he shook his head. "No! It's not that," he denied. "Well, not exactly. I mean, one of my mother's brothers is gay and...I don't care. But, my father and _yours_?"

"Why are you so dead set on them _not_ being together then?" I asked. "Why do you even care?"

Frowning again, Scorpius said, "It's just...odd, don't you think? I mean, after all those years of despising one another. And, I didn't even know Father was gay until he sprung this on me the day he picked me up from King's Cross Station."

"You didn't know he was gay?" I asked incredulously. "How could you _not_ know? Sounds like he's brought men home before."

Scorpius shuddered again. "_Nooo_, he hasn't. He wouldn't do that with my sisters here."

I hitched my brow up—which caused the boy to sigh.

"To my knowledge, your father is the first person Father's _ever_ brought home," he said.

"But...your grandfather said—"

"Yes, I heard Grandfather quite well, thank you," he interrupted. "But that incident must have happened while I was at Hogwarts. I had no knowledge of it. And it must have been isolated."

"I see."

"Do you?" the blond boy asked. "Aren't you _at all_ surprised by this?"

I shrugged. "I supposed...a little. Not the gay part, mind. Our mum apparently knew. She used to tease about Dad's male suitors."

Scorpius blinked. "Your father had male suitors when your mother was...still alive?"

"Not exactly," I said. "The jokes ran more along the line that, if she _didn't_ exist, then he _would_ have them. And dad never objected to the teasing. In fact, he even seemed to find humor in it."

Scorpius nodded. "I see."

"Do you?" I said, throwing his question back at him.

"I do, but...that doesn't mean I have to like this. I had actually hoped Father would remain single."

"You mean _alone_, right?"

"Not exactly," the boy said. "I wouldn't object to him dating...just...well, I'd rather he not bring them home."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't you _want_ him to be happy?"

"Of course, but...one doesn't need someone else permanently stuck in his or her life to be happy," he said sanctimoniously.

"Pfft! Right," I said with another dramatic roll of my eyes. "In an alternate universe, _maybe_, but in _this_ one people _need_ human contact, Scorpius. It's in our nature to desire a companion. It makes us feel safe."

"Could we not talk about this anymore?" he asked me, looking quite distressed.

"Fine, but I will not support you and my brothers in your ludicrous endeavor to break up the parents," I said as I walked toward the boy. "They look happy and I will not be, _in any way_, responsible for anything that may have adverse effects on this family. And that means all eight of us! Now, if you will excuse me," I went on, "I need to get dressed." And with that I closed my door in his face.

I was frustrated, that was for sure. Why couldn't the boys see that our dads were in love? Sure, it was weird, but...what did that matter when _love_ was a factor? Mr. Malfoy had been a widower for over three years now and _our_ dad had been alone since mum's accident a year ago. I didn't know much about Mr. Malfoy (other than what I'd read in books), but I knew our dad _quite_ well; the loneliness was nearly killing him. And it was especially painful when we all gathered at Grandma and Grandpa Weasley's house, where everybody had their respective wives at their sides—and dad had no one except us. And I don't mean, in any way, shape, or form, to say that our dad doesn't adore us completely, because he does. It's just that, at just thirteen, even I knew that someone's children cannot replace a beloved spouse—and everyone _knew_ that dad loved mum dearly. They had a history. And I could see the pain of loss in dad's eyes—the brilliance that had once filled them had faded. It was awful.

But it was different now. I'd noticed the change immediately—when he'd picked us up at platform nine and three-quarters—before he'd even had a chance to tell us. The twinkle in his eyes was back and that was all that really mattered to me. And it was all that should matter to the rest of us! So _there_!

**XxX**

"I don't know why you're bothering to tidy yourself up, Potter," dad's boyfriend was saying as I entered the lounge. "You're going to be covered in Floo powder by the time we get to the Manor, so why bother."

I could tell the very thought of traveling by Floo disgusted Mr. Malfoy—frankly, I agreed with him—but there were too many of us to use Side-Along Apparition. They'd talked about it during our morning meal, but rejected the idea immediately. Then Mr. Malfoy suggested they drive in his Muggle car—to which our dad laughed, saying, "In what world will the eight of us fit into your shiny black _two-seater_ Porsche, Draco?" Mr. Malfoy had responded with an exasperated roll of his eyes and mumbled some disparaging remarks about how our dad should _never_ have been able to defeat the Dark Lord since, evidently, he wasn't capable of using magic—and something else about my dad's inability to create _wizard space_. This wasn't true, of course; there were plenty of times that our dad had used the spells that expanded the area of something, but he tended to not use his magic if he didn't _need_ to—for the most part.

And, we _did_ have a car—a four-door Golf—but Mr. Malfoy apparently hated it, because _one_, it was _too common a vehicle_ (Pfft! Dad loved his German _auto_), and _two_, it was Gryffindor red (scarlet, to be exact).

Cringe! I didn't much like the color myself; I looked _ghastly_ in it with my red hair. Thank _Salazar_ I was in Slytherin and never _had_ to wear it if I didn't want to—and I never did!

But, what dad's boyfriend didn't know was that dad had changed the color of his Golf to red (from charcoal grey) as we'd gotten out of it to go up and knock on Mr. Malfoy's front door the night we'd arrived. I'd rolled my eyes, of course, but both my brothers had snickered. I'm sure dad did it to make them laugh, probably hoped it would diffuse the tension between the three of them. It only helped until the blond man answered the door—and then my two Gryffindork brothers reverted back to the twats that they are.

So...going to Malfoy Manor for tea with Grandmere Cissa was going to be a dirty affair.

"It's open," dad's boyfriend said after several minutes. "I'll take Cassie through with me. Send the children through afterwards. Then you bring Carina with you."

Our dad nodded, stooped to pick up the twin he'd been instructed to take, then waited while the other man _took a pinch of glittering powder out of_ a small urn-like dish, _stepped up to_ a small _fire_ in his Floo—the only one in the house connected to the Floo Network—_and threw the powder into the flames_.

_With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than_ the blond man, _who stepped right into it_, shouted, "Malfoy Manor!" _and vanished_.

"All right boys," dad said, "you're next."

Scorpius quickly followed his father, then James stepped up.

"_You must speak clearly_," dad instructed—to which he received a scathing look.

"I _know_, dad," my oldest brother snapped. "I'm not new at this, you know!"

Then quickly, James threw the powder into the flames and shouted, then disappeared, and Albus, giving us a small smile, followed him silently.

"You're next, Lil," my dad said, stating the obvious. I, of course, didn't point that out; dad was already uncomfortable enough, after all.

"See you there," I said instead—then grabbed a pinch of powder and did the same thing the four before me had.

Nearly a minute after my arrival at Mr. Malfoy's parents' house, dad finally arrived with his young companion—and she was glowing with pleasure.

"_Took_ you long enough," dad's boyfriend said as he confiscated his daughter, set her down, then vigorously began to brush the Floo powder from her previously immaculate outfit. "Almost thought you two had gotten lost," he went on before noticing his daughter's delight. Narrowing his eyes, Mr. Malfoy turned his full attention onto the grinning girl. "What are you so happy about, Ree?" he asked, poking her in the belly to make her giggle.

"Da-da let me throw the powder and shout the words," the little girl said proudly.

The blond man's eyes flew up to dad's in surprise. "You're braver than I thought, Potter," he said. "I mean, I _know_ you're a brave man, but...you _could have_ ended up anywhere. _Merlin_, I loathe to imagine what could have happened if you'd landed in Mademoiselle Malfleur's Mandrake garden instead of mother and father's grate."

"Who?" my dad queried.

"The manor house approximately forty kilometers west of here," the blond man supplied, clearly exasperated. "That woman's a right foul old bint and she's _completely_ obsessive about her bloody mandrakes. Merlin, I don't want to even _think_ about what she'd have done if you'd damaged one of her precious plants."

"Er. All right."

The blond rolled his eyes. "Eloquent as always, Potter," he said—then went on. "And what if you had ended up at Malcolm Malcott's Menagerie? Could have been—"

"Malcolm Malcott's _what_?" my dad interrupted.

"_Menagerie_, Potter...it's a zoo, of sorts," dad's boyfriend explained. "Mr. Malcott specializes in magical creatures. He has a massive enclosure with a pair of manicores that, while sentient and capable of intelligent speech, are not classified as being because of their violent tendencies."

"Okay. So—"

"_Goodness_, Potter, landing in there _would've_ been the end of the both of you."

"Obviously it wasn't, Draco," said dad. Then, leaning close, he brushed his lips over Mr. Malfoy's cheek and squeezed his hand. "We're here and we're fine."

"But...you _could_ have ended up _anywhere_," the blond pushed, a worried look in his gray eyes. "After everything you've been through, you should know to be more careful."

"True," Dad said with a chuckle as he placed one more kiss on the other man's face. "But careful's something I'm never going to be, Draco. You know this." Then shrugging, he continued. "And, it wouldn't be the first time I ended up in the wrong place."

Mr. Malfoy rolled his eyes (again), then started brushing off dad's jumper. "Seriously, Potter...you're lucky you had Carina and not Cassie," the blond man said, whispering the last part into dad's ear after leaning in close—which I heard because I was standing right next to them.

"Like I said, wouldn't be the first time...and I'd be willing to bet it won't be the last either," dad said with another laugh. "We'd have gotten here sooner or later."

Making a tsking sound, Mr. Malfoy shook his head. "Silly Gryffindor! What'll I do with you?" he asked, though he didn't expect (or want) a response—and to prevent one, he leaned in and kissed my dad (much to the boys' disgust), then took the smallest step back and smiled nervously. "We're here."

"It's not like you to state the obvious," dad said, a worried frown creasing his brow. "You all right?"

The blond man took a deep breath. "I will be...when we get through _this_," he said, making a sweeping gesture.

Dad reached out then, and touched Mr. Malfoy's hand. "We will, Draco. Relax."

Dad's boyfriend sighed heavily, then nodded. "I can do this," he said.

"Of course you can," dad agreed.

"_Darlings_. You're here at last," came a feminine drawl from a doorway behind us. "I am so glad."

Elegantly, Grandmere Cissa glided into the room to welcome us. She went first to her son. Taking him into her arms, she gave him a loving squeeze (which he accepted without reservation) and kissed both of his cheeks—then did the same to my dad. Dad looked a little awkward with the affection, but he received it well, all things considered. Afterwards, Mr. Malfoy's mother gave each of their bellies a gentle pat, saying something (in French, I presumed) that caused her son to blush, dad to laugh (at Draco's blush, not at what was said, because he didn't understand a word of French), and two of the three boys (James and Scorpius) to roll their eyes in disgust. Then, crouching down, she pulled her twin granddaughters forward, placed several kisses on each of their tiny faces, then smiled at them.

"You two are taller every time I see you," she said. "What _ever_ are your fathers feeding you?"

Cassie giggled, but Carina frowned. "You saw us yesterday, Grandmere," she said with a perplexed look on her face. "I don't think we've growed since then."

Tossing a quick glance up at her son, Grandmere Cissa pursed her lips, then looked back at Carina smiled. "You sound just like your father, darling," she said.

The blonde woman then gave each little girl yet another kiss, this time on their cute little noses, then rose and turned toward me. "Lily, dear," she said as she hugged me close. "I got your owl. Thank you ever so much."

"Oh. You're welcome, Grandmere Cissa," I said—much to the surprise of both my dad and his boyfriend. I ignored their stares, of course, as I smiled up at the woman.

With a little squeeze of my hand, Grandmere Cissa turned from me to greet the boys next. She didn't bother trying to embrace them—probably the right decision, based on the looks on their faces. Scorpius Malfoy may be her grandson, but teen-aged boys never seemed to like _parental_ affection in front of others, let alone _grandmotherly_ affection! And, since my brothers were virtually strangers to her (and clearly weren't receptive), she gave them a brief nod and a cordial hello, then turned back to her son and my dad.

"Come, come," she finally said. "Kipsy has tea, finger sandwiches, and scones ready for us in the tea room."

With that she turned and led us through a set of double doors and into another large room. It was just an ante chamber, but it was nearly as large as the average-sized lounge in a normal person's home. It was then that I remembered that this wasn't a _normal person's_ home—and I figured it wouldn't be the last time I had to remind myself of this fact. Malfoy Manor was, apparently, a _massive_ structure—and the ante chamber, though large, was miniscule in size if one compared it to the room from which we'd just come.

"Where is Father?" Mr. Malfoy asked, his voice tight as we followed his mother through another set of double doors and into an elongated hallway, glancing around him as we went. He obviously felt rather nervous about being in his childhood home after the confrontation the day before—I didn't blame him; Lucius Malfoy was a very scary man! It was odd how dad's boyfriend could look _so much_ like his father and yet not come across as so menacing. Maybe it was all the black the elder Malfoy man wore...or how his cape snapped about him when he'd stormed out of his son's flat...or his grating voice and constant scowl—not that I'd seen it enough to know if it were constant. I had seen pictures of the man though; Lucius Malfoy never seemed to be all that pleasant—and pleasant was something that _Draco_ Malfoy _had_ shown.

"In his study, dear," said Grandmere Cissa. "You needn't look for him; I don't believe he'll be joining us this time."

"Thank _Merlin_!" dad's boyfriend said with a relieved sigh.

"Be nice, Dragon!" the blonde woman scolded her son. "It's not every day your father finds out his only son is attached to the Chosen One."

"Mother, _please_!" the man hissed, his cheeks pinking slightly, embarrassed that his mother would say such a thing in front of my dad, I supposed. "Please don't call Harry that."

Clearly concerned, the blonde woman looked at her son's chosen man. "Oh. I do apologize, Harry dear," she said to my dad, looking and sounding quite sincere. "I suppose it's merely habit, but I will make every effort to refrain from using such epithets in the future."

Smiling, dad said, "It's fine, Narcissa. _Really_."

Sighing her relief, the woman's shoulders relaxed and her blue eyes shifted to her son. "See, darling, Harry doesn't seem to be _at all_ upset," she said, almost smugly, then turned again and started down the hall. "You mustn't get yourself so worked up; it causes wrinkles, I'm told."

Following behind them, I could see my dad reach out, grab his boyfriend's hand, and squeeze it—to let him know he really was fine and not _at all upset_. "Relax, _Dragon_," I heard him whisper as he pulled the other man along with him.

Taking a deep breath, Mr. Malfoy nodded—then he seemed to realize what dad called him and glared. But dad ignored him.

**XxX**

After _at least_ an hour of _tea, finger sandwiches, and scones_—and a few tasty treats that Grandmere Cissa had asked her house-elf, Kipsy, to bring out for us—Mr. Malfoy's mother suggested we move our gathering into the parlour.

"Mother, we really should be on our way," the man said with an almost urgent look on his face.

"Oh, darling, not yet," she whined. "I have surprises for _everyone_."

Resigning himself (once again), dad's boyfriend sighed. "All right, Mother. Lead the way," he said.

Clasping her hands, Grandmere Malfoy grinned happily. "Splendid!" Then, picking up one of the twins and handing her to me, the blonde woman scooped up the other little girl and started walking. "Come, darlings," she said, leading our group from her tea room and into the parlour just down another hall—this one short.

Rolling his eyes, Mr. Malfoy glanced at my dad and mouthed an apology.

Shrugging, dad once again took his boyfriend's hand and squeezed it. "It's fine, _Dragon_," he whispered teasingly—and once again received a glare.

"If you keep calling me that, _Potter_, you're going to be one very sorry man. At least, part of you will be," the man hissed under his breath.

This only caused my dad to chuckle. I could tell that either he wasn't afraid of his boyfriend's threat or that he was challenging the man to do his worst. In a way, it was disturbing, but...it was also sort of cute. Seeing my dad so obviously in love again was a wonderful thing.

"Welcome to the room where the Malfoys have been celebrating their family Christmases for generations," the woman said proudly as she pushed open a pair of massive doors and motioned that we should enter.

We all looked around in awe (except for Scorpius, who was obviously seen it all before), mesmerized by the lavish furnishings. Even dad looked impressed.

"Your tree is...wonderful!" I exclaimed. I'd never seen one so large.

From beside me, Albus nodded and voiced his agreement. "It's _brilliant_!"

"Thank you, dears," Grandmere Cissa said, clearly thrilled that her monstrous tree brought such light to our eyes.

"I've never seen such a large tree inside a house before," I went on.

"It is quite large, isn't it?" Mr. Malfoy's mother said with a smile. "This one is only the third largest."

I felt my eyes widen. "_Third_ largest? You have more than one tree?"

Grandmere Cissa nodded. "I will have to show you the one in the great hall later on, dear. I must admit that it's rather remarkable."

I nodded. "I would _love_ to see it. How many others are there?"

The blonde woman smiled again—as if she were having the time of her life—and settled herself onto a settee. "We have four trees at the Manor this year; all were delivered a fortnight before Christmas, along with the rest of the greenery," she said with a wave of her hand at the holly and ivy around the room.

In fact, I realized as I looked around, the room was completely dec'd out with fairy lights (magically lit, of course), sparkling silver and gold tinsel, and every color of bauble one could think of. To say it was spectacular would be an understatement.

"Now, everyone," Grandmere Cissa said, "please choose a place and sit down. I have gifts for all."

And that's when I felt my face fall—because, despite being a Slytherin, I'd not even _considered_ that she'd use the information I'd given her to procure Christmas presents for us. I could see her doing it the _following_ year—maybe, if everything was still going well between my dad and Mr. Malfoy, but...she didn't even _know_ us. Not really. And clearly the devastation showed on my face.

"What is wrong, dear?" she asked, her entire being tensed.

"I...um...we didn't bring gifts to exchange," I nearly wailed, embarrassed to have to be the one to break the news to her.

"Oh. Is _that_ all," she said with a dismissive wave. "No gifts are necessary, darling. Your fathers have kindly taken care of that little dilemma. I shall have my gifts come June." She then smiled at her son and my dad. "By the by, dears," she said to them, "my gift to you both will be running interference for the next six months. After that you're going to have to deal with Lucius on your own. You should have _heard_ his ranting last night. That man can be completely unreasonable! I actually had to tell him to leave our rooms. Haven't seen him since."

Mr. Malfoy smiled at this. "Thank you, Mother, and I really am sorry."

"Enough apologies!" Grandmere Cissa burst exasperatedly. "All this is...shocking, to say the least, but..." She shrugged. "We'll survive. We _always_ do. Now...open, open!" she said impatiently.

***~* D & H *~***

After some confusion (and upset) over a gift—Narcissa Malfoy had given them (the entire Malfoy/Potter family) tickets to a professional Quidditch match—they settled down.

But first the upset!

Albus had been almost bubbling with excitement over the blonde woman's gift, but James immediately noticed the teams and became quite angry—and it showed.

"May I use the loo?" James all but growled, his face red with rage.

"Of course," Draco said, then motioned for Scorpius to show Harry's eldest to the closest toilet.

"May we go with them, dad?" Lily Potter asked hurriedly.

Nodding, Harry accepted the tickets that Albus had thrust into his hand.

"What is going on?" the woman asked worriedly when the four older children had left the room. "Is something wrong? What happened?"

Unsure, Draco took the tickets from Harry and looked at them—then frowned. "Mother, their mum played for the Holyhead Harpies," he said with a glance at his frowning boyfriend. "She was _killed_ while practicing with them. How could you be so insensitive as to give them tickets to see their mother's team?"

Narcissa Malfoy paled. "Oh dear! I didn't realize, Draco. I really didn't," she lamented, her hand fluttering up to her mouth. "This is just..._dreadful_."

"Oh, Mother, stop being so dramatic!" Draco admonished—but she ignored him, of course.

"Oh Harry, I _truly_ am so very sorry," she went on. "I absolutely did not intend to cause you and your children further pain."

Harry shook his head. "That goes without saying, Narcissa. Of course you wouldn't do that. It'll be all right. You didn't know."

"But I _did_ know," she argued as she wrung her hands. "_Everyone_ knows your poor wife played for that team. I...I just wasn't _thinking_. How thoughtless of me. I wanted to get them something special...something maybe you didn't do for them often," she tried to explain. "Lily said they love Quidditch, just like you and Draco did, so I..." Narcissa let her words trail off—then she started in again. "I could already tell that your eldest wouldn't want to come here...that he doesn't like us."

The last part had Harry shaking his head. "James isn't upset with anyone, but me, Narcissa," he said. "Please don't worry."

Narcissa didn't look at all convinced. "Are you sure, dear? James looks...furious."

"Oh, he is, but it's entirely directed at _me_," Harry said. "I don't think he's even upset that I'm with Draco."

"Can you ever forgive me, Harry dear?" the older woman asked.

"Of course, Narcissa," said the dark-haired man. "I know you didn't do it on purpose and, deep down, so do the children; they'll be fine. And I think it could even be cathartic for them to go see their mum's team play again. They loved watching her play, but I stopped taking them after the accident. It was just...too hard _for me_.

The woman nodded. "It would be for anyone, dear," she said. "I could exchange the tickets for another team perhaps."

Harry shook his head. "That's not necessary. They have to learn that life goes on," he said as he looked down at the tickets Draco had pressed back into his hand. "We'll make a day of it. It'll be brilliant."

"You're very kind, Harry," Narcissa said with a relieved smile, her blue eyes going to her son. "My Draco is very lucky to have you."

Slipping his arm about Draco's waist, Harry said, "I feel quite lucky as well."

**XxX**

"Are you sure about this, Draco?" Harry asked as he allowed himself to be pulled up one of the manor's many staircases. They'd just come from the Great Hall, where Narcissa Malfoy had shown them their most grand Christmas tree—it was magnificent!—then dismissed them so that she could give the Potter children a formal tour of the grounds. "I'm not sure your mother meant that we should...you know, go up into your rooms and..."

"Of course she did," said Draco. "I don't think she'd appreciate us fucking in the parlour, Potter. And _Father_ would probably _Avada_ us if he found us in the billiard room. Though _sometime_, when we're sure we won't be interrupted, I'd _love_ to have you on the snooker table."

Harry scoffed. "Then we'll buy one of our own, because we are _not_ going to fuck on Lucius Malfoy's table," Harry said.

Draco laughed.

"And stop calling me 'Potter' or I'll—"

"Or you'll what?" Draco said, stopping abruptly, then pushing his boyfriend up against the wall and smashing their lips together. "Tell me what you'll do, _Potter_?"

Harry swallowed and tried to clear his head, then glanced around; the hallway was completely empty, but that could change at any moment. And, _how_ was it possible for Draco Malfoy to make him feel like a schoolboy? "We...we shouldn't be doing this here."

"Why the bloody hell not?" Draco growled.

"Your father...he might catch us."

Draco snorted. "Don't care! We're grown men and my father can just..._piss off_ if he doesn't like it!"

"You don't mean that," Harry said with a shake of his head.

"Don't I?"

Harry just stared at him.

"Tell me what you'll do if I keep calling you 'Potter'...I'd _really_ like to know."

"I...I'll start calling you Dragon," Harry responded after a moment's pause. "Regularly."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "That's blackmail."

Harry shook his head. "No, it's not. It's simple really. If _you_ can remember that my name is Harry, then _I'll_ find it much _easier_ to remember that yours is Draco."

Draco scowled—but lost himself in the man he loved when Harry switched their positions and pushed him back into the wall, then nibbled his way up Draco's neck as he pressed their aching groins together.

"And, if you _can't_ remember," Harry went on, "then I might forget and call you Dragon in front of our friends as well."

Focusing, Draco shoved Harry back a step. "I forbid it!" he growled, his eyes flashing furiously.

Not at all intimidated by the other man's fury, Harry grinned. "Can't very well stop me," he said—then turned and took the stairs two at a time. It had been a while since he'd wandered the upper floors of Malfoy Manor—since Professor Mitchell's springtime swap during their final year at Hogwarts—but he remembered his way around the house as if he'd been there yesterday.

Blinking, Draco watched his boyfriend go—if only for a split second—and then he followed quickly. Catching up on the third floor, Draco grabbed the dark-haired man by a hand and pulled hard, swinging him around and to his chest. "I can if I keep your mouth full of something else," he teased.

"_That'd_ go over well when our friends come over," Harry said sarcastically, but with an amused chuckle. "Granted, Ron didn't seem overly upset about us, but...I'm sure he'd be rather put out if he had to be witness to your cock in my mouth."

The blond grinned. "Then you had better hold your tongue and behave yourself, Harry," he whispered warningly, "because you _know_ I won't hesitate to follow through."

The threat didn't seem nearly as menacing now that Draco had switched to his first name, but Harry wondered how far he could push him. Smiling, he let his fingers travel up the other man's chest and over his shoulders to the black suede thong that held his perfectly coiffed hair back. Grabbing the tie, Harry yanked it—somewhat roughly—then threaded his fingers into Draco's long free hair, mussing it up as he placed several chaste kisses on Draco's smooth jaw. "I'm not sure you'd like it so much if I were to..._hold my tongue_. Or should I say, _with_hold my tongue?" he taunted with a smirk.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"And what would _your_ friends say?" Harry pushed on.

"Pfft! They wouldn't be scandalized, if that's what you're wondering," Draco said.

Still smiling, Harry leaned back slightly, but kept his forearms on Draco's shoulders. "They wouldn't react to me on my knees with your cock in my mouth?"

His hands on Harry's hips, Draco laughed. "I didn't say they wouldn't react. I said they wouldn't be _scandalized_. But there would _most definitely_ be a reaction. Daphne wouldn't much appreciate such a display, of course; she can be a bit uppity," Draco said. "But Theo would be _extremely_ amused to see the Chosen One kneeling before me; it's one thing to be told we're fucking, quite another to bare witness to some of it. I think Blaise though, the _horny_ bastard that he is, would make an attempt to join us. And _Pansy_, she'd have a field day; she'd want to take pictures, I'm sure."

Harry snorted. "_Pictures_? Not likely! And my cousin would _definitely_ be scandalized."

Draco shook his head. "You don't know Dudley very well if you think that, Potter. Pansy's not very tight-lipped about their sexcapades. They're maniacs. I know for a fact that they've engaged in public sex, because Pansy forced me to look at the pictures. And Merlin forbid they get a second alone in their own house...they start fucking like bunnies."

Harry's face scrunched up. "_Eww_."

"You're telling me," Draco said with a shudder. "Went over to their house for a dinner party once and I was unfortunate enough to actually walk in on them. Why they thought they could get away with a quickie in the kitchen when they had a house full of company is _completely_ beyond me."

"Oi!" Harry exclaimed, his hands moving to cover his ears. "Too much information, Malfoy! _Please_ stop. You're ruining the mood."

Draco laughed. "Too right," he agreed with a nod—then grabbed Harry's face and proceeded to snog him quite thoroughly. "And speaking of mood, Potter, let's go find a piece of furniture I can fuck you into."

Breathless, Harry nodded vigorously. "Yes. _Please_. I'd really like that, Dragon."

"I do so love it when you beg..._Harry_," Draco said with a contented smile.

And off they went.


	4. Day Four

**XxX  
**

**Coming Together for the Holidays**

(some thoughts on the matter)

**Day Four**

(Tuesday, December 28, 2021)

***~* Albus Severus Potter *~***

It was our last day at the Malfoy's and, if I were to be _completely_ honest with myself, I'd have to admit that I actually didn't _hate_ being here at all...and that I'd had a fairly good time getting to know them a bit. Go figure! Well, Scorpius was a bit of a git, but...he wasn't _horrible_. His sisters, however, were adorable. And, surprisingly enough, Mr. Malfoy was _nothing_ like I'd imagined (or read...or been told). Dad's boyfriend was pleasant (and entertaining) to be around; he was nice to all of us (even when _some of us_ didn't deserve it); he was a good father; _and_ he made my dad smile like he used to when our mum was still alive.

Now, I suppose I could be angry about that last part, because mum had only been gone for a year and we all missed her (desperately)...and we all hated to think that _our_ lives were going on without her when _hers_ had been cut so drastically short. But, as much as it hurt to have lost her, I just couldn't stay disgruntled over my dad choosing to move on. He had to at some point, right? He couldn't just be alone _forever_, wallowing in what once was! That would just be..._depressing_! And, was it even a _choice_? The falling in love again, I mean (not the gay part, because that obviously _wasn't_ a choice; dad was clearly gay, or at least bi). Could one resist love once it reared its ugly head? And it _was_ ugly. Love seemed to make people do the oddest things...like bringing two of the most opposite men (and their families) together. Just that made me fairly sure that there was no choice to love. Personally, I'd never been in love before, but it seemed to me like it (love) _just_ happened...like the people involved just sort of fell—tumbled all crazy-like—head over _damned_ heels, and from then on were just lost in it. I'm not sure they can even help themselves after that point. Can they? I don't know. Hmm. The whole thing sounded sort of scary to me and I wasn't sure if it was something I ever wanted to do, but...like I said...sounds like it's _totally_ uncontrollable!

Anyway, Dad fell for Mr. Malfoy and vice versa _and_ they were both pregnant! Definitely sounded like a done deal! Time to be supportive, right? I could do that. And, all this would be good for us because, as far as I was concerned, a happy dad made for all of us being happy as well—and I liked being happy. Who _didn't_ like to be happy? But the bottom line here was that the blond man seemed to be a good man and dad liked him. _Loved_ him. How could I (we) possibly object to _that_? Yes, this was a good thing! And there might just be some more fun times ahead for all of us. I could definitely go for that!

So...summation:

* I'd had an unexpectedly good time.  
* Draco Malfoy seemed to be an interesting person—and dad loved him!  
* Our mum was gone and it was only right that dad get on with his life.  
* There were babies on the way—a new brother _and_ sister, apparently!  
* Scorpius Malfoy wasn't _too_ awful...and his sisters were adorably cute.  
* The Malfoy's flat, though not as large as Grimmauld Place, was pretty cool (i.e. there was enough space for all of us _and_ they had a telly).  
* We'd met the "in-laws"—one of which was supportive—and Malfoy Manor was _amazing_!  
* And, our dad was HAPPY!

Not that I could talk to James about any of these things, of course, because he was still being such an arse about the whole thing. If I had to hear one more complaint about our situation, or what _he_ thought about it (as if he were the only one being affected), I just might have to hex my own brother into next week—_fuck_ the consequences! Dad would be angry with me, of course (underage magic and all that nonsense), but James would deserve it and the possible punishment _might_ be worth it—even dad would understand that, right? Maybe not, if the Ministry got involved. They _could_ take my wand away, you know. And, even if they didn't, I'd get the _I'm-head-Auror-and-you-can't-break-the-law_ speech. I _hated_ that speech! If it had to hear _that_ again, I might just have to hex myself!

Note to self...wait until we get back to Hogwarts to hex James! _Yes_. That's perfect! That would prevent any Ministry involvement, thus not putting any undue stress on dad. My _pregnant_ dad. Brilliant solution! And I could hex him under the guise of dueling, since we'd long been part of the dueling club. Yes. That's good. I _like_ it! *grin*

Anyway, James wasn't usually such a self-centered git, but he sure seemed to have quite a few opinions right now. I didn't know what was wrong with him and hoped his whinging would just go away! It _might_, right? Sometimes I felt like I didn't know anything.

But Lily knew, of course, because...Lily always knows _everything_. I'm not sure what the deal is with my sister, but she seemed to be taking to this _whole thing_ like a Ukrainian Ironbelly would to the Northern Carpathians, which also seemed pretty out of character for a Slytherin (with their whole resistance to things that are different thing), but...well, I suppose it's a good thing for the parents, right? She's taking this quite well. And, she's not taking any of James' shite...thank _Merlin_! Not that that's new or anything, because Lily doesn't take shite from anyone. She'd even given Scorpius what for; he was being rather arse-like yesterday morning (I could hear them through the close bedroom door) and Lily snapped, sinking her fangs (metaphorically speaking) into him and releasing a bit of Slytherin venom. It was rather humorous to see...er..._hear_ her wrath being let loose on someone else for a change. And it shut the blond up too...though, he was probably used to that brand of poison, being a snake himself and all.

As for Scorpius, he seemed to be softening as well. He'd put up quite a cold front at first, _sure_, but I could tell that he liked us—even dad—by the time our visit was coming to a close. We'd all spent the evening before watching Muggle movies on their Muggle electronics, eating Muggle snack foods, and playing Muggle board games (and one round of Wizard's Chess)—who knew two purebred wizards could have so much non-purebred stuff in their house! And then, after the parents took the little ones off to bed—and went off to their own bedroom activities...ew!—the rest of us stayed up laughing until all hours. In fact, we even fell asleep together; three Potters and one Malfoy in a tangled heap on the parlour floor. It was...quite cozy! And, thanks to Lily, there was no further talk about breaking up the dads. Oh, James did try once, but our dear slithering serpent sister quickly put the kibosh on it (Thank Merlin again!), saying that she'd hex James' bollocks off if he didn't "shut the bloody fuck up!" Shocking language, I know, coming out of our dear thirteen-year-old sister's pure little mouth (pfft!), but that's what she said. James, of course, gave her his most vicious _Panthera leo_ glare, but we all knew he was much too obsessed with _that_ part of his anatomy to ignore her threat and he did indeed shut it—for which we were all glad.

It would be good—our new family.

Or, it _could_ be.

Maybe.

Well, I thought so, anyway.

Anyway, we (the four of us) had so much fun on our last night together (threats and some bickering notwithstanding) that we agreed to spend our very next Hogsmeade weekend together, getting to know each other more thoroughly; the Potters and _the_ Malfoy—or maybe it would be the Gryffindors (James and me) and the Slytherins (Lily and Scorp).

_Scorp_? Where the _hell_ had _that_ come from? I mean, I call my sister _Lil_ or _Lils_ sometimes (okay, a lot), and more rarely I call James, _Jay_ (not too often; he has a habit of thumping me when I do), but..._Scorpius Malfoy_...shortened to _Scorp_? Pfft! What the heck? It was like I was initiating him into the family or something. I frowned. I'd have to make sure I didn't slip and say that in front of James, because, though he was obviously learning to tolerate our blond..._classmate_?...it was entirely possible that he'd not appreciate endearing epithets directed at my age mate.

And then I heard a bit of somewhat-friendly arguing.

"Be _nice_, Score!" Lily said in her all too familiar scolding manner as they entered the parlour. "They've every right to stay in the bedroom until they're good and ready to come out."

"Pfft! _Right_!" James huffed from behind them. "Do they _ever_ come up for air?"

Lily rolled her eyes, then turned and slapped James on the side of the head.

"Ouch! That really hurt, Lily!" James groused. "Violent much?"

Again, Lily rolled her eyes, but continued into the room without saying a word. Sitting in the chair she'd appropriated as her own, she watched James flop down unceremoniously into _his_ place, while "_Score_" lowered himself (gracefully) into _his_ preferred seat. I was already sitting on the sofa, so I just continued to sit there...and listen to them.

"I'm only _suggesting_," the blond drawled, his voice strained, "that they wait until we're all back at Hogwarts to...you know. Not too much to ask, is it?"

James shook his head. "Not to me, it isn't."

"What do you think, Albus?" Scorpius said, turning on me. "You agree that they could wait, right?"

"I...ahh...yeah, I guess," I said dumbly. "_Could_ being the operative word."

From my position I could see James roll his eyes, but our sister smirked.

"Couldn't we just...leave it alone?" she said. "I'm _tired_ of all this."

"So am I," James quipped.

"I'm not referring to dad and Draco's relationship, James, and you know it!" she snapped, her green eyes flashing. "I'm talking about you and Score whinging on and on and on about our dads. They're together and there's _nothing_ you can do about it, so get over it...and yourselves too, for that matter!"

"Yeah...well...we'll see about _that_!" James snarled—causing Lily's eyes to roll yet again as she reached for something to read to keep her mind off our prat of a brother.

From my place on the sofa, I successfully avoided my brother's angry gaze by bringing my eyes to the telly instead; Scorpius had turned it on quickly after James' outburst, clearly intending to shift our focus from the subject of our parents. It worked.

***~* D & H *~***

Lying sprawled out—and naked, except for a luxuriously soft and silky sheet—on Draco's massive four-poster, with the blond's head on his shoulder and a leg thrown over both of his, Harry knew the moment the other man roused by the change in his respiration—and because he felt eyelashes flick and tickle his collarbone. They'd spent _hours_ in each other's arms the night before; first, fucking furiously, as if they didn't have the _time_ to _take_ their time...then talking intermittently, while struggling to regulate their erratic, freshly-fucked breathing...eventually shifting back to exploring each other's sticky, sweat-soaked bodies with hands and mouths...and finally, making love to one another so slowly and carefully (and lovingly) that they _somehow_ lost track of time; it was only the sun making its appearance on the horizon that forced them to close their eyes and give sleep a go.

"I can't believe we made it through this visit," Harry said quietly. He was amazed (and thankful) that the children hadn't torn each other apart. It was a good sign.

Draco yawned, then— "Pfft! The _visit_, as you call it, is not over yet, Potter," he returned as he made quite the production out of stretching, then settled his head back down onto Harry's shoulder and started fluttering his fingertips over this boyfriend's bare chest. "We still have a few hours left for all hell to break loose."

Harry chuckled. "Ahh...Dragon...you are _such_ a pessimist," he said as he twirled Draco's hair with his fingers.

"Don't call me that!" Draco snarled as he poked a pointy finger into Harry's chest.

"Ouch!" Harry exclaimed. "That's not very nice..._Dragon_!"

Draco's next move caused the dark-haired man to wince; he'd moved his fingers to Harry's right nipple and pinched—quite hard! "I _said_, don't call me th—"

But Draco couldn't finish, because Harry'd reached up, threaded his fingers into the blond's sleep-tousled hair, then yanked him roughly into a bruising kiss.

"I told you," Harry said after snogging the other man completely senseless. "If you call me _Potter_." Kiss. "Then I'll call you _Dragon_." Kiss.

Staring up at Harry, his gray eyes slightly unfocused from his boyfriend's thorough snogging, Draco frowned and struggled to concentrate—so that he could form a coherent sentence. "You've turned me into a _sodding_ Hufflepuff, Potter!" he accused harshly.

This made Harry laugh. "Only took me what..._thirty_ years?"

Using all his strength, Draco shoved Harry back, rolled him to his back, and then straddled his hips. "I am _not_ a Hufflepuff!" the blond growled with as much menace as he could muster—which wasn't much because he was feeling queerly.

Shaking his head, Harry laughed again. "Never said you were, Draco...you called _yourself_ a Hufflepuff."

"But you agreed with me...sort of." Draco frowned. Harry hadn't _really_ agreed, but he'd implied it. "I think you should be punished for it," Draco said with an evil glint in his eyes.

Still on his back, his green eyes sparkling up at Draco, Harry shrugged. "All right."

Draco blinked. "All _right_? That's _all_ you have to say?"

Nodding, Harry tried to keep his facial features serious—and then said, "What shall my punishment be, Draco...hot oil or the rack?"

"The _what_?" Draco asked, confused.

"Sorry. Muggle reference. Torture device," Harry semi-explained.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I _hate_ it when you do that...makes me feel like an idiot. You know that, right?"

"Er...sorry," Harry said with a sheepish grin. "So...um...perhaps you'd rather just...fuck me raw, then?" he went on, going back to their previous topic.

Narrowing his eyes, Draco scrambled off his boyfriend, saying, "Everything's _always_ about sex with you!" as he hurried to get off the bed.

But he didn't get far, because Harry went after him. "Oh no, you don't," Harry said as he quickly snaked an arm around Draco's middle and pulled him backward.

"Let me go!" the blond growled, struggling.

Not willing to allow Draco to get away from him, Harry held his boyfriend until he stopped wildly wiggling, then loosened his grip—but only a bit, because he wasn't willing to allow Draco to get away from him completely.

"_Now_, Harry!" Draco demanded through clenched teeth. "I _mean_ it!"

Frowning, Harry only gave pause for a moment before releasing his clearly upset boyfriend, then watched as the blond quickly moved away and slowly (unsteadily) got to his feet. Then, smoothing his hair back, the other man visibly worked to even out his breathing. It took several moments.

"You sure are grumpy this morning, Draco," he finally said when his boyfriend seemed more in control. "After last night...I thought you'd be in a much better mood. What's wrong?"

Draco swallowed. "_Nothing_!" he said quickly—a little _too_ quickly. "I'm fine, Harry...really."

As Harry watched, Draco's face turned an odd shade of yellowish-green—then he turned and dashed for the bathroom. When the door slammed shut, it suddenly occurred to Harry what was going on. Following Draco to the bathroom, Harry opened the door to find the other man on his knees, hunched over the toilet. Rushing forward, Harry dropped down beside him and said, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Go. _Away_!" Draco said between retches.

"I'm not going anywhere, Draco," Harry said with a shake of his head as he began to rub his pregnant boyfriend's back.

First trying to shrug off Harry's touch (unsuccessfully), Draco then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "_Please_," he whined. "Just go. Leave me alone." And then his body shuddered and he heaved again.

Harry shook his head—not that Draco could see. "Nope! Not gonna happen."

While the man threw up, Harry stood there holding his hair back, so that it wouldn't get soiled (Draco would hate that), and continued to massage his back until it appeared there was nothing else to throw up—and then Harry stood up and grabbed a hand towel, wetted it, and began wiping down Draco's pale face. His eyes red-rimmed and full of tears, Draco tried to look away—but Harry wouldn't let him.

"Hey!" said the dark-haired man, his hand gripping Draco's chin firmly. "We're in this together, remember?"

For a moment, Draco continued to avoid Harry's gaze. Desperately, he fought to keep his tears from falling—because _tears_ were "an unacceptable form of expressing one's self" (or so his father had told him countless times)—but then he gave up, blinked, and allowed them to course down his cheeks.

"Harry. _Please_," he whispered, his face flushed with embarrassment.

"Why didn't you take your morning sickness potion, Draco?" Harry asked, ignoring the other man's plea.

Draco shrugged. "I forgot, I guess."

Harry frowned. "That's not at all like you."

Draco snorted. "Your bad habits seem to be rubbing off on me, Potter."

Chuckling, Harry nodded. "Seems so," he said. Moving to the medicine cabinet, Harry pulled out a phial and handed it to the blond. "Let's not allow that to happen again, eh? Bottom's up."

Without argument, Draco tipped the viscous, neon pink liquid into his mouth and swallowed it. At first the flavor was sour, but then, as it disappeared down Draco's throat, it became almost too sweet. It only took moments for his stomach to settle, making him feel normal again.

"Thank you, Harry," he whispered.

Ignoring his boyfriend, Harry took the empty phial out of Draco's hand, then handed him a glass of water. "Now this."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes, _Mother_," he said sarcastically before bringing the glass to his mouth. "Any _more_ instructions?" he asked once the water was gone.

Harry smiled. "Now _that's_ the snarky Draco Malfoy I know and love."

"I am _not_ snarky."

Harry laughed. "Oh, but you _are_," he said as he leaned forward and kissed this blond boyfriend right on the mouth.

Draco pulled away. "What are you _doing_? I just vomited."

"And you took the morning sickness potion, which means your mouth should taste like candy."

"That's still disgusting," Draco argued, his nose scrunched up with revulsion. "Let me _at least_ brush my teeth."

"Fine then," Harry said. "But hurry it up! I'll be waiting for you in bed."

Draco rolled his eyes at Harry's one track mind—then grinned because he wouldn't have it any other way. Of course he didn't hurry though. Not a bit. After a night spent writhing against one another in ecstasy, sweat dripping from their bodies—and thirty minutes of throwing up this morning—Draco decided a hot shower was in order.

**XxX**

Harry chuckled with amusement as he walked back into Draco's bedroom from the loo. He wouldn't have minded it a bit if Draco had come back to bed dirty—he wasn't so clean himself—but he should have known that that wouldn't be very Draco-like. Draco liked being clean. In fact, Harry would go so far as to say his boyfriend was more than a little obsessive-compulsive about cleanliness. It was definitely more than everything having its place, but sometimes Harry thought the blond was a little over the top about it—and so he was constantly surprised at just how dirty he could get Draco before the man finally broke and dashed off to the shower.

Intending to crawl back into Draco's bed and wait for the man to emerge from the bathroom squeaky clean, Harry headed that way—but then he stopped and reversed direction. "Fuck it!" he muttered. He knew his boyfriend probably wouldn't say anything about his sticky, come-coated skin, but he decided he'd rather not be dirty if Draco was going to be all fresh and clean.

"I knew you'd be back," came Draco's voice as soon as Harry opened to the bathroom door and slipped inside.

"Yeah?" Harry responded. "And how'd you know that?"

Draco smirked. "Because I know how much you like fucking in the shower."

Laughing, Harry stepped into Draco's shower and allowed the drenched man to push him through the teaming stray and up against the wall.

"_Thank you_," Draco said huskily as he brought his body flush with Harry's—then sealed their lips together.

His arms coming up to wrap around the blond's still slim waist, Harry kissed back passionately—because he _loved_ him passionately. Again, he didn't respond to Draco's words of thanks. For one, it wasn't necessary; the customary response was only said out of sheer politeness (which Harry didn't always seem to be), because everyone was _so_ worried (overly so, as far as Harry was concerned) about following standard etiquette—but Harry knew that Draco wouldn't appreciate the gesture. Not at all. That was, in fact, the other reason why Harry said nothing. It was hard enough for Draco to get the words out in the first place and Harry knew he preferred that they went unacknowledged. But Harry did hear them, of course, and very much understood what it meant for Draco to have said them (twice); Draco was conceding that he was in Harry's debt.

But Harry didn't see it that way. So, when Draco started to drop to his knees, Harry quickly stopped him.

"No. I want you inside me," he said.

Then, when it looked like Draco might argue—because he clearly felt as though he owed Harry for taking care of him while he was ill—Harry grabbed their erections with both hands and stroked them, causing the blond's eyes to roll back in his head.

"You play dirty, Potter," Draco huffed, pretending to be irritated while Harry simultaneously rubbed their cocks together and wanked them both. "And you're going to put an end to this right quick...if you don't stop."

His lips ghosting over Draco's, then leaving the blond's mouth to travel down his neck, Harry grinned. "All right then," he said as he released Draco's hard member and focused solely on his own—causing Draco to groan with disappointment and frustration.

"You are _such_ a wanker, Potter!" Draco complained—but he kept his gaze on what Harry was doing. At this point nothing could draw his eyes away.

And Harry knew this. Running one hand rhythmically up and down his own shaft, while twisting his thumb and forefinger over its sensitive tip on each upstroke, the dark-haired man let his other hand travel down his stomach and between his own legs, where he grasped his balls and massaged them. "That's what...I'm going for, _Dragon_...a good wank," he moaned out as he slid his fingers back to play with his entrance.

Groaning at the very idea of Harry pushing a finger (or several) into his own arse, Draco reached for his own cock—but only got a few strokes in before Harry gasped and exploded. Harry's body convulsed as he climaxed, shooting come all over Draco's hand and cock and chest, then he seemed to lose the strength in his legs and leaned forward, his arms going up and over Draco's shoulders for support.

"I want you inside me," Harry rasped, repeating his request. "Please. I'm so ready for you, Draco."

Draco nodded. He wanted that too. His hands, which were no longer on his own come-drenched cock, pulled Harry up against him, then hoisted the green-eyed man up, so that his legs were around Draco's waist. It only took a moment to seek out Harry's waiting (ready) hole. Using Harry's own release as a lubricant, Draco pushed himself inside, then walked the man back through the shower spray and into the tiled wall.

"Oh, that's it, Draco," Harry moaned as he slumped against the blond's chest, his head turned so that his face was pressed up against Draco's neck. "Right. _There_!"

Holding Harry against the wall, Draco snacked his hands up from behind and settled them on the man's shoulders to pull him down onto his aching erection, then threw his head back and rocked his hips, slowly at first, because he liked the vibrating feeling of Harry's moans against his neck—then changing the pace, because he knew that's what Harry would want...and need.

"Draco!" breathed Harry. "Harder!"

And Draco complied—until he reached his breaking point. And then he was shouting Harry's name as he shuddered and came.

***~* A *~***

My _pleasant_ brother, James, spent most of the day alternating between snapping and snarling at us (whenever the dads left the room) and ignoring us completely, while Lily and Scorpius and I took turns playing wizard chess. The twins were easily entertained by the one of us not playing chess (not James, because he just sat there scowling). While Scorpius and I were engrossed in a game, Lily and the twins played dress up—modeling each of their outfits for us all to see. Some of them were ridiculously silly, but the three of them seemed to be having a grand time. To say the least, it was entertaining (I think I even saw a twitch of a smile flit across James' face)...and I had to admit that my sister was quite creative. Where she got her dress-up ideas was beyond me, but she was obviously good at it—at fashion and entertainment..._and_ with children. Who knew!

After lunch, when the twins' naptime came, we switched to Muggle board games—and the dads disappeared again. None of us questioned where they went or what they were doing, and nothing was said about their bedroom activities. Even James, though clearly not pleased, didn't utter a word.

When supper approached, we all gathered in the dining room. Dad's boyfriend had prepared us individual steak and kidney pies, shaping each differently (obviously with magic, because mine was in the shape of a Snitch), then telling us the story of the first time he'd ever had steak and kidney pie—apparently it was our dad who'd made it for him.

And then there was the delectable array of desserts. Later on, James would say, _the bloody prat's just trying to butter us all up_ and that he couldn't believe dad was _falling for his bullshit_, but...they both just looked sodding happy, if you asked me. James didn't ask me, of course, but...whatever!

So, it was after the evening meal that we left the Malfoy's flat. Our goodbyes were said outside. Dad's boyfriend and his children walked us out to our car, Scorpius, walking between Lily and me—the three of us promising to meet up at Hogwarts as soon as possible. Earlier we'd agreed to go to Hogsmeade together, but that would be a few weeks off, so we decided to plan a study session...or something. James pretended disinterest, but I knew he was listening to (and hanging on) our every word. He probably wouldn't spend too much time with us though, being older and all (his friends would most definitely take the piss out of him if he did), but I could tell that he didn't want to be completely left out either. When we got to the car, he quickly thanked Mr. Malfoy, then climbed inside and slammed the door.

For a moment, Dad looked a bit confused, then he blushed with embarrassment. He didn't have to say anything though, because Mr. Malfoy grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"Don't worry about it, Harry," came the blond's whispered words.

With a sigh, my dad nodded—then he looked at us. "Let's head home, guys."

My sister immediately stepped forward and stuck out her hand. "Thank you for such a nice time, Mr. Malfoy," she said politely (kindly). "It was good to meet you."

Smiling, dad's boyfriend took my sister's much smaller hand. "You are quite welcome, Lily, and the feeling is mutual. And please, call me Draco...all of you," he said, his gray eyes shifting from my sister's face to mine, then back.

Lily grinned and nodded. "Good night, Draco."

"Good night, Lily," Draco replied.

I stepped forward next. "I had a good time too...Draco," I said, frowning slightly. It was kind of hard to use his first name, but I figured that, if my sister could do it, then so could I. And I was sure that it would only get easier with each use. "Good night."

The blond man smiled down at me and thanked me for coming, then looked at my dad as we clamored into the back seat of dad's Golf. I tried not to watch what happened next, but it was hard to miss when our dad stepped close to the man, wrapped his arms around him, and kissed him thoroughly. Lily, of course, was avidly watching; she seemed to have no qualms about it. James, on the other hand, was grinding his teeth and looking completely in the opposite direction. Scorpius was avoiding the spectacle as well, instead pretending to focus his attention on his sisters. The twins, however, were giggling. They _really_ liked us and our dad.

When the parents parted, I heard James ground out a _finally_, but I'm sure no one else heard it except me. I then watched dad say his goodbyes to Scorpius and the twins. Scorpius, not surprisingly, behaved quite graciously, even though I knew he wasn't thrilled about his father dating our father (or the babies on the way), and the twins gave our dad loving hugs and kisses. That seemed to make our dad very happy. After a few more goodbyes to the twins, dad stood up and looked at Draco.

"I'll ring you tomorrow?"

Draco nodded. "Night, Potter."

Dad grinned. "G'night, Dragon."

* * *

**Author's Note**

I really didn't do much proofreading of this (especially of Lily and Albus' chapters), so if you find glaring errors (or things that are just plain wrong), please...please, PLEASE let me know, so I can fix them (a.s.a.p.). Thank you _sooooo_ much!

* * *

**Families+**

- **Harry** James Potter (b. July 31, 1980), (41) – black hair, green eyes  
- Ginevra "**Ginny**" Molly Weasley-Potter (b. August 11, 1981), (dead – Quidditch accident – September 15, 2020) – red-haired, light brown eyes  
- **James** Sirius Potter (b. late 2004), (16) – dark brown hair (?), blue eyes (?, like Uncle Ron's, maybe – Wiki says brown, but I want them to be blue)  
- **Albus** Severus Potter (b. 2006), (15) – jet black hair, green eyes  
- **Lily** Luna Potter (b. late 2007), (13) – red-haired, green eyes (? – Wiki says brown, but I'm going with green)

- **Draco** Malfoy (b. June 5,1980, (41) – pale blond hair, gray eyes  
- **Astoria** Greengrass-Malfoy (dead – hemorrhaged giving birth to twins – 2018) – light blonde hair, blue eyes (?)  
- **Scorpius** Hyperion Malfoy (b. 2006), (15) – pale blond hair, gray eyes  
- **Carina** Malfoy (3) – pale blonde hair, blue eyes (*)  
- Cassiopeia "**Cassie**" Malfoy (3) – pale blonde hair, blue eyes (*)

(*) Note - I'm well aware that Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass-Malfoy never had twin daughters or that she died giving birth to said made up twins, but...this is MY STORY and I want it that way! So there!

(?) Further note – question marks indicate information that I either didn't know or just made up to suit my purposes (any of this could be changed later on, should I choose to add or remove)

* * *

**Timeline**_ (for my craziness)_

**1998**  
– May 2, 1998 – war ends

**1999  
**– June 1999 – those who returned to Hogwarts to complete their last year graduate – story of final year told in "Class of Ninety-nine" (which is not a "complete" story at this time)

**2004**  
– James Sirius Potter born – after September 1st (according to me)

**2006**  
– Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy born – before September 1st (according to me)  
– Albus Sirius Potter born – before September 1st (according to me)

**2007**  
– Lily Luna Potter born – after September 1st (according to me)

**2016**  
– September 1, 2016 – James Sirius Potter (Gryffindor House) attends Hogwarts for the first time

**2017**  
– Friday, September 1, 2017 – Albus Severus Potter (Gryffindor House) and Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy (Slytherin House) attend Hogwarts for the first time (all parents there to see them off, epilogue compliant)

**2018**  
– Astoria Malfoy dies after giving birth to twins

**2019**  
– September 1, 2019 – Lily Luna Potter (Slytherin House) attends Hogwarts for the first time

**2020**  
– Tuesday, September 1, 2020 – kids return to Hogwarts  
– Tuesday, September 15, 2020 – Ginny killed in Quidditch accident in Holyhead

**2021**  
– Wednesday, September 1, 2021 – kids return to Hogwarts  
– Friday, September 10, 2021 – Harry and Draco run into one another, get sloshed, and end up in bed together

– Sunday, October 10, 2021 – one month PG

– Wednesday, November 10, 2021 – two months PG  
– Monday, November 29, 2021 ("nearly three months since kids went back to school") – Harry and Draco unknowingly go to the same doctor and find out they're both expecting (Draco tells Daphne and Pansy later that same day)

– Friday, December 10, 2021 – three months PG  
– Friday, December 17, 2021 – Draco and Harry's get together at Draco's flat (Ron and Hermione are told...along with several others)  
– Saturday, December 18, 2021 – Draco and Harry go (separately) to pick up their children from Platform 9¾  
– Saturday, December 25, 2021 – Harry takes his children over to Draco's flat for Christmas Day  
– Sunday, December 26, 2021 – Lucius and Narcissa show up at Draco's flat  
– Monday, December 27, 2021 – Draco and Harry take children over to Malfoy Manor for tea with Narcissa  
– Tuesday, December 28, 2021 – Last of four days at Draco's flat

**2022**  
– Friday, June 17, 2022 – Harry and Draco's babies are **due** (note: I've done the math...and I think this due date is off...might change it later.)


	5. Response to Reviews page

**Coming Together for the Holidays**

**This page is reserved for me to respond to reviews and/or comments received...it is NOT a fifth chapter, nor will it ever be.**

**However, if you people don't REVIEW, then I have nothing to respond to! *sigh***

**And, just so you people know, I look at everyone's profile. I do this so that I can learn something about the person who is reviewing my stories or adding me and/or my stories to their favorites.**

**THANK YOU!**

Anonymous (4/23/12) – I read all the parts in one go and I dare say its smashing all the grumpiness , the sex and everything is all balanced nicely I do hope there a part 5. cheers. ***~*~*~* Thank you, dear (whoever you are)! I'm all about balance. =)**

twpsyn.78 (4/23/12) – I just read all four parts and I loved it. Great job, hope you'll write more of this. ***~*~*~* I will be…not sure when, but part five will eventually come. =)**

KatEverdeen-Mellark (4/23/12) – Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, other than oc's are not my thing. The boys, Albus, Scorpius and James are all so stupid. There I said it. Doesn't their fathers happiness not mean anything? could they be any more selfish? Cause that's what their being. Selfish. ***~*~*~* I VERY much agree with you, Sheena, but...well, they are teenagers. I have four children (now 17, 18, 19, and 21) and they can VERY much be selfish brats. Not so much anymore, but…yeah.**

KatEverdeen-Mellark (4/23/12) – Why did you have to give Draco so many bloody middle names? Why can't it just be Lucius? That'd be so much better. And I really hate Lucius, he is such an ass. ***~*~*~* Lol. Yeah, I did that in another story, because that's what my "pureblood" English family once did (i.e. back in the crazy lords and ladies days), so I was going with historical consistency. Seems like that was once the thing to do in days of old…and I'm thinking the pureblood wizard families are old families who might practice this too. You should see the family three that I made up for my other story. I have a half-Mexican friend (my childhood BFF) whose has eleven middle names (on her birth certificate)…it's crazy! And yes, Lucius is an arse! I don't think I wrote him any differently than he is in the books…he's an awful person! Anyway…thanks for reviewing. =)**

KatEverdeen-Mellark (4/23/12) –I really think that Lily should tell Harry and Draco what the boys are planning. Cause obviously, no good will come from what their about to do except Harry and Draco being miserable and unhappy. How could the boys be so selfish? ***~*~*~* Once again…_teenagers_! But, don't worry, Lily won't have to tell Harry and Draco, because things will just work themselves out naturally. Very soon, James, Scorpius, Lily, and Albus will be back at Hogwarts and not in a position to cause trouble. Plus, they're already talking about hanging out together at school, so…I think they'll be fine.**

KatEverdeen-Mellark (4/23/12) – Is it just me or what cause it seems like this needs to be continued like with what's going to happen with now just James plan to separate them? I don't want James to succeed. Harry and Draco need to find out exactly what they were planning to do to them. Anyways, I'm just saying that your story doesn't look finished. ***~*~*~* No, it's only semi-finished. Did you read my notes at the beginning of chapter one? This is PART FOUR in a continuing series. Maybe you missed my note, so I'll repost the note here…**

**Note:** I've decided to post this series of scenes between Harry and Draco as separate "complete" stories, because I'm afraid that I'm going to lose interest and just stop updating...and I know how much people hate that, because I do too. Each "scene" _should be_ complete in and of itself. I will try not to leave you hanging, though I may imply that there'll be more to follow. I hope you can forgive my strange way of getting around using the "in progress" function...and for not continuing the series, should I so choose to just be done with it.

**I hope that clears things up…and THANK YOU for reading and reviewing. xoxo** (ETA: your name and profile looked familiar, so I searched through my other reviews...you reviewed PART ONE in this series, but not PART TWO or PART THREE...so...glad my memory serves.)

MrsDracoMalfoy1022 (4/25/12) – Like it!** *~*~*~* I'm so glad you liked my fic...and thanks for the review, Gen (if that's your name...yes, I look at everyone's profile...yours is MASSIVE!).**

MrsDracoMalfoy1022 (4/25/12) – Dragon. Haaa. I like that. ***~*~*~* Thank you again. I could totally see Mrs. Malfoy giving her son some cute nickname, and that, if Harry heard it, he'd use it to tease his boyfriend...and that Draco would hate it...sort of. Actually, I think Draco likes it, but...whatever! =)**

MrsDracoMalfoy1022 (4/26/12) – Thank you for writing this. It's been a while since I actually read a Drarry fic that makes me happy. You're awesome. ***~*~*~* You are soooooooo very welcome, Gen (?). For the most part, I say that I write for myself (which is true), but I'm ALWAYS thrilled when someone enjoys one of my stories. *grin* It's so funny how one person (you) can be made happy by something (a story) and yet others are annoyed (by the characters' behavior)...we are all so different! Isn't it great? BTW, I noticed that you added this story to your "story alerts"...just thought I'd mention that it's "complete," so there won't be more to this (under the title "Coming Home for the Holidays"). This is PART FOUR in my series of "complete" stories (have you read the first three parts?) and there will probably be a PART FIVE (probably, IDK), but there will not be any more to this part. Sorry. I know...it's weird. AGAIN...thank you!  
**

atlantis51 (5/2/12) – The kids are stupid (except Lily, of course) to involve Lucius! And the sex is HOT! You need reviews, dear! Good story! ***~*~*~* Aren't they though...stupid for involving Lucius? But, they're just kids, and I know some teens who would do/say some of the things they're doing/saying...and kids _can be_ quite selfish when their parents aren't doing what they want them to do. They'll shape up, I'm sure. Glad you're enjoying the sex bits...they are sometimes hard to write, but...I was semi-pleased with the outcome. THANK YOU for the review! *grin***

atlantis51 (5/2/12) – Ha, I think Lucius is so predictable! Always snarky and nasty to Potter. He'll get over it, I'm sure. Nothing like a devoted Grandpere for the new arrival's, eh? ***~*~*~* Yes, he's quite predictable, as far as I'm concerned. Poor Harry never does anything to deserve the old fart's snarky nasty behavior either. Sheesh! And yeah...I too am sure it he'll get over it. =)**


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